Sweet Caroline
by gingercat0319
Summary: He was rich, single and disgustingly handsome. Learn how a four-year-old will turn his world up-side down. Sequel now posted - My Darling Caroline.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

Chapter 1

The curly blond-haired girl skipped gleefully up and the down the aisles in the bookstore. She was playing hide-and-seek with her mother. Well, she was playing hide-and-seek. Her mother, on the other hand, was searching frantically for her daughter in the large bookstore.

"Caroline, where are you? Young lady, come back here this instant!" called her mother. Caroline had a habit of wandering off while shopping with her mum.

The four-year-old skipped around the corner and looked up to find a tall man looking at the vast amount of titles in the business section. He wore a gray business suit with a green striped tie. He looked very serious with his arms folded across his chest.

Caroline slowly walked up to the man and stood silently beside him folding her arms across her chest. The man then unfolded his arms and put his hands on his hips, still oblivious to the little girl beside him. She then unfolded her arms and put her hands on her hips, mimicking the man.

"Caroline!" the voice was becoming more urgent and a little closer.

The man picked up a book on the top shelf and started leafing through it. Caroline picked up a book on one of the lower shelves and did the same. She looked up at the man, craning her neck because he was so tall.

"Here, this looks like a good one," she said as she reached up offering the book to him.

For the first time the man glanced down at the little girl. He thought maybe she might be four or five-years-old. Or maybe younger…she did look rather small. He noticed her curly white-blond hair with a big pink bow on the side. She wore a pink and purple tee shirt and denim shorts.

"What makes you think that's a good one?"

"Because of the cover, silly. It's got a picture of a pretty lady with a nice smile." Her voice was tiny but strong, and had kind of a sing-song quality to it.

"Don't you know you can't judge a book by its cover?" He couldn't believe he was actually having a conversation with the little girl. He normally shied away from children, thinking they were loud, whiny and generally annoying. But there was something different about her. She seemed wise beyond her age.

"Well, I think she looks nice, and you're nice, so I think you'd like this book."

"How do you know I'm nice? What if I'm a mean person?"

She thought for a moment. "Because if you drink a lot of milk your hair turns white. You must drink a lot of milk like me 'cuz I have white hair too. Since _I'm_ a nice person, that means _you've_ got to be a nice person too." She always had trouble pronouncing her 'R's' – they came out sounding more like soft 'W's.'

He wasn't sure if he was following her logic, but she was amusing him so he continued, "What if I told you I was a mean person, and I ate little girls with curly white hair for breakfast?"

She giggled and grinned up at him. "Then I'd think you're full of _bullshit_. Uh, oh." He raised his eyebrows and looked at her in surprise not believing a curse word came out of that innocent little mouth. She looked down at her little pink purse and took a small coin pouch from it. She took out a coin and handed it to the man.

"What's this for?"

"My mum said I have to pay a pound every time I say a curse word." Her blue-gray eyes lowered, ashamed of what she said.

"Well, if I had to pay a pound every time I said a curse word, I'd be the poorest man in London." He smiled down at her, or was it a smirk?

She started to giggle again. He bent down on one knee so he could be closer to her. He took the coin and flipped in the air a couple of times. She looked in wonder as he tossed the coin from one hand to the other. All of a sudden, the coin seemed to disappear as he opened his hands for her to see.

Caroline gasped in awe. With a slight of hand, the man reached behind her ear and pulled out the coin. She started to giggle again.

"Are you a witch?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"No, I'm not a witch," he chuckled as he stood up.

"You just did magic, and my mum used to do magic too. She was a real witch!" She kept her voice low.

"Is that so? Tell me more."

"She was the most powerfulest witch in the world. A long time ago, she and her friends kicked Moldywort's _arse._ Oops." She took another coin from her purse and handed it to him.

Moldywort? Did she mean Voldemort? No, it couldn't be, could it?

At that moment Caroline's mother came around the corner looking down at her daughter. "Caroline, what I have told you about running away from me in big stores?" She saw two long legs in gray wool trousers standing there and started apologizing. "I'm so sorry sir; I hope my daughter hasn't been both…" Grabbing Caroline's hand, she looked up at the man. Her brown eyes were wide with fear. The blood ran out of her face.

"Malfoy?"

"Granger?"

* * *

"Come on, Caroline. Let's go to the park." Hermione grabbed the little girl's arm and started leading her away. Quickly.

"But Mummy, I was just talking to the nice man."

Draco just stood there in disbelief. He was starting at the white-haired girl. "Wait… Granger." He started following them at a quick pace.

There was a community park across the street from the bookstore. Even though it was nice sunny day, the park was not that crowded. When they reached the playground area, Hermione picked Caroline up and sat her down on one of the swings. "You stay here where I can see you!" Her voice was angry, and it was scaring Caroline a little.

Hermione rounded on her heel and was face to face with Draco. He grabbed her arm and led her to a nearby bench.

In an angry hushed tone, Hermione said, "Don't you EVER come near or speak to my daughter again!" She shoved him hard in the chest. He grabbed her wrists so she wouldn't attack him again. There was a fierce look in her eyes, like a lioness protecting her cub. "Just forget you ever saw us."

"Not likely, Granger. It looks like you owe me an explanation." With a small shove, he let go of her wrists and put his hands on his hips, staring at her with an icy glare.

"I owe you nothing! This doesn't concern you."

"The _hell_ it doesn't. I think this very much concerns me," Draco hissed. "You'd have to be blind not to notice the resemblance." He sat down on the bench. "She's the spitting image of me.

"Although to be truthful, I don't recall having sex with you…not that I didn't want to…unless I was drunk and just don't remember..." He smirked at her. How she hated that smirk. She felt like slapping it off his face.

"Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy. My mud blood didn't dirty your sheets." She plopped down on the bench beside him.

"Well then who else has white blond hair and gray eyes, other than my fath…?"

"Bingo. Give the man a cigar," she said sarcastically.

His mouth hung open. "But how? When?"

She motioned him to lower his voice. "Since you slept with most of the girls in Hogwarts, I think you of all people know _how_," she whispered. "The _when_ was the time we were held hostage, and I was tortured by Bellatrix. While I was held prisoner in your dungeons, your Dear Old Dad paid me a visit. He took me to a separate room, and he…" Her eyes were filling up with tears. She closed her eyes and shook her head, not wanting to relive the memory.

* * *

_Flashback:_

_She was taken from her cell by two Death Eaters and shoved into a smaller room. The only furniture in the room was a table and two chairs. It looked like an interrogation room at a police station. _

_He was waiting for her._

"_Ah, welcome to my party, you little mudblood bitch." He took off his cloak and draped it across one of the chairs. He started taking off his gloves one finger at a time. _

_Hermione just stood in the middle of room too panicked to look at him. She had heard the rumors about Lucius, and at this moment she'd rather be cruciated by Bellatrix than to stand in the same room with him._

_Lucius took his wand from the top of his cane and made her clothes disappear except her bra and knickers. He circled her never taking his eyes off her body. He flipped her hair off her shoulder with end his cane. He ran the snake's head end of his cane up and down her arm, and then lifted her chin with it. She shut her eyes and willed this to be a bad dream..._

__

_

* * *

_

Draco looked at her in disbelief. He put his palms against his eyes and dragged them down his face. All of a sudden he looked very tired. "

That son of a bitch!" He slammed his fist against the seat of the bench. He couldn't put into words the rage he felt inside. Lucius had done some terrible things like torturing and killing, so he shouldn't be too surprised that his father was a rapist, too. But it made him sick just the same.

He reached out to touch her, comfort her, but she scooted farther away from him. "Don't you dare touch me, Ferret." Her voice was trembling.

She put her hands over her face and shook her head. "I can't believe this nightmare is happening. Caroline and I just moved back here and of all people we had to run into, it had to be a Malfoy."

She looked up at him with daggers in her chocolate brown eyes. "I _will_ kill you if you breathe a word of this to your father. That monster will never set eyes on my daughter."

Draco just shook his head. "He'll never know. I assure you…I promise you." Didn't she know? It made big headlines in _The Daily Prophet_.

"You can't promise that he'll never find out. You of all people know what your father is capable of."

"He'll never know… he died six months ago in Azkaban. Don't you read the papers?"

She stared at him. "I've been out of the country for the past few years. This better not be a joke, because I'm dead serious."

"Well, Lucius is dead…dead."

Hermione let the information sink in. The late August breeze flowed through her soft curly hair. She glanced toward the swings and saw Caroline galloping in their direction, her white blond hair bouncing in the breeze. Hermione looked back up at Draco, her eyes a little softer this time. "Caroline is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't imagine my life without her."

Draco nodded and gave her another one of his infamous smirks. "Well, she certainly impressed the shit out of me."

Closer now, Caroline stomped toward them with a determined look on her face. She reached up to Draco with her palm up. "I heard you say a curse word. I want my money back."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for all your generous reviews. I am honored that you took the time to read my story and put it in your alerts/favs. I hope the confusion a couple of you had will clear up as the story goes on. (I hope.)

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 2

"Caroline, honey, this is Mr. Malfoy. We used to go to school together a long time ago." Draco thought it was a wise move not to introduce him as her half-brother. He was having a hard time believing it himself, so imagine how hard it would be to explain it to a child.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Malfoy." Caroline did a little curtsy and extended her hand to Draco. "My name is Caroline. Now pay up!"

"Caroline…" Hermione warned with a raised eyebrow. One never knew what would come out of Caroline's mouth.

"That's a very pretty name, Caroline." Draco took her little hand into his and shook it noticing how small it was compared to his. "You seem to be a very smart young lady." He let go of her hand which left the two coins mysteriously in her palm.

"How'd you do that? Will you teach me, Mr. Malfoy?" said Caroline in her small but confident voice.

"You can call me Draco." He gave her a wink and a smile.

She put her hand over her mouth and started giggling. "Draco. That's a weird name. Draco, Draco, Draco," she sang. Because of her speech problem, his name sounded more like Dwaco.

"Hey, what's that?" Caroline pointed to the cane leaning against the bench on the other side of Draco.

"This is a walking stick that belonged to my father. The snake's head at the top was actually a handle of his wand at one time. See?" Draco pulled on the snake's head and showed her where the wand used to be.

Hermione had not noticed the cane before. Alarms screamed in her head, and she began to panic. "Stay away from that, Caroline. Don't touch it!" Hermione felt a heavy weight on her chest. She couldn't breathe. She felt light-headed and saw stars before she passed out.

Draco caught her as she slumped on the bench. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now." He gently laid her down. "Granger, wake up. Come on, wake up!" He gently slapped her on each side of her face hoping she'd wake up.

"Is my mummy dead?" Caroline had tears in her eyes. She threw herself on Hermione and began to sob.

"No, sweetheart, your mummy's not dead. She's just taking a little nap." Draco started to slightly panic. He had Granger passed out on a park bench, and a little kid making a scene wailing for her mother to wake up.

Draco picked Hermione up bridal-style and carried her to a large tree nearby. He placed her at the foot of the tree out of the view of others. Caroline followed him; her cries were soft whimpers now.

Draco withdrew his wand and gently tapped Hermione on the head. "_Rennervate_," he said softly. Hermione took in a big breath and opened her eyes. He always loved her eyes – such a beautiful chocolate brown that he could get lost in forever.

Draco moved her sun-kissed chestnut curls from around her face. "Well, Sleeping Beauty, glad you could join us." He smiled down at her. "We were getting worried there for a bit."

"Mummy, you're alive! You should have seen Draco use his wand on your head. He used magic to wake you up."

"I don't know what came over me. Sorry about that."

She started to stand but was still a little woozy. Draco took her by the elbow to steady her. "We'll talk about this later," he whispered in her ear.

"How about I take you two ladies to lunch? You might feel better after you've had something to eat."

"No, that's okay. We were actually…" Hermione started to protest.

"Yay, let's go to Chucky Chicken for lunch." Caroline started to jump up and down excitedly. "Chucky Chicken, Chucky Chicken, Chucky Chicken. Bwack, bwack, bwack." She was running in circles with her arms flapping like a chicken.

"Okay, clue me in," said Draco. "What's Chucky Chicken?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You don't want to know, "she laughed. "It's a fast food place that caters to kids. They have an inside playground, and it's very loud with all the kids running around and screaming. I wouldn't subject that to my worst enemy – which would still be you, by the way."

"Gee thanks, Granger. I love you too," he said sarcastically. "Sounds adventurous. Let's go – my Jag's over here." After the war, Draco began to appreciate the muggle world a little more. With his money (both inherited and from his company) he could afford the best both muggle and magical worlds had to offer.

"What? A Malfoy using muggle transportation?"

"Well, we could apparate if you'd rather."

"Where did you park?"

* * *

After Caroline finished her chicken nuggets and potato wedges, she ran over to the play area and found a couple of little girls to play with.

Draco pushed his wilted salad around with is fork with a disgusted look on his face. "How can anyone each this shit? Is it even real food?" This was his first time eating at a fast food restaurant. He had taken his jacket off, loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He wore a gold Rolex watch on his wrist.

"Hey, you wanted to come. Quit complaining." She _really_ looked at him for the first time today. His hair was a little longer than she remembered. He seemed a little broader and taller too. She liked his nice smile, something she rarely saw at Hogwarts. His intense gray eyes still had an effect on her.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Draco asked, "Do you want to tell me what happened back there at the park?" His gray eyes bore into her chocolate ones and sent a shiver up her spine.

She lowered her gaze and said, "I…I just freaked out when I saw Lucius' cane. That's all. I'd really rather not talk about it."

Draco realized that probably brought back some bad memories for her, so he dropped it…for now.

"And what is this about you used to be a witch? Magic is something you just don't turn on and off."

Hermione glanced around to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. She rarely spoke to anyone regarding her situation. She couldn't believe she was telling her story to Malfoy of all people.

She took a deep breath. "After the war I found out I was pregnant. I needed to get away and clear my head so I moved to Australia to find my parents. After Caroline was born, I decided to stay there and work on my degree. My father became very ill and wanted to spend his last days in England, so we moved back to London a couple of weeks ago.

"All I want to do is have a normal muggle life with Caroline. I rarely, if ever, use magic anymore. No more worrying about the wizarding world and its politics, no more Dark Magic, no more Death Eaters, no more pressure of being the brightest witch of my age." She smiled and stopped for a moment to see Draco's reaction.

He thought about what she said for a moment. He couldn't fathom anyone, least of all her, just throwing the wizarding world aside. "So what you're telling me, Granger, is that you've lost your Gryffindor courage and are hiding in the muggle world. What does Potter and Weasel think about all this? Or do you ever see them anymore?"

"I haven't seen Ron, but Harry and I went out to lunch last week. He respects my decision." She paused for a moment. "I just want what's best for Caroline. The wizarding world is not as safe as everyone thinks it is even with the downfall of Voldemort. I just want her to have a happy normal life." Hermione lowered her head and was unconsciously playing with a straw wrapper.

"I hate to break it to you, Granger, but her life will be anything but normal. As much as you hate it, she's a Malfoy, and Malfoys don't do normal. She'll find out soon enough that a whole magical world exists. You won't be able to keep it from her… It wouldn't be fair to keep it from her. That is who she is."

Draco sighed and shook his head. "The war must have really fucked you up, Granger. Where is the brave, outspoken witch that wouldn't think twice about hexing my balls off? You don't know this but I would wake up every morning actually looking forward to your insulting banter. It turned me on the way you called me _ferret." _He wagged his eyebrows and leaned forward.

"You're still a disgusting prat," she laughed. She wrapped her soft pink lips around the straw and took a sip of her milkshake. Damn, he wished he could trade places with that straw.

"Why the hell do you care anyway? Why are you being nice to me? I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone or something. Oh, I've got it, you're a pod person and aliens have taken the real Draco Malfoy."

"I guess the war changed us all, hmm?" He pointed his thumb at himself. "Some even for the better. So tell me more about Caroline. Wow, I can't believe I have a sister. That is surreal."

"Half-sister technically." Hermione's cell phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID. "I've got to take this. I'll just be right outside."

Draco nodded and waved her to go on. A few moments later he could see her out the restaurant's window. She wore a crisp white sleeveless shirt and khaki shorts well above the knee that showed off her summer tan. He noticed that she wore her clothes a little tighter now. Her neckline plunged a little deeper – her shorts a little shorter. Merlin, where did she get those legs? Oh how he would love to have those legs wrapped around his waist. He was thinking of all the bad things he would like to do with her.

Wait, should he even be having those types of lustful thoughts about his half-sister's mother? Was that perverted or what? He was still a horny sex god just like his days at Hogwarts. And fuck, Granger looked good. He was probably going to go to hell anyway for his past sins…what's one more?

* * *

"Draco?" A little voice broke him out of his fantasy. "Where's my mummy?" He was just a little annoyed that his impure thoughts were interrupted.

"She just went outside to take a call. She'll be right back."

"Well, I've got to go potty." Caroline was fidgeting and crossing her legs.

"Your mum will be back in just a minute."

She shook her blond curls. "No, I gotta go NOW!"

"Oh, alright, I'll take you to the restroom. Come on." He left his jacket on the seat so Hermione wouldn't freak out to see that he and Caroline were missing.

They approached the ladies' room, and Draco gently pushed her toward the door. "I can't go in there by myself," Caroline said.

Draco put his hands on his hips. "Well, if I go in the ladies' room with you, I'll probably get arrested." He quickly grabbed her hand and headed to the men's room.

Caroline was pulling back. "I can't go in there. I'm not a boy."

Draco picked her up at the waist. "I don't think you have a choice." He placed his hand over her eyes and entered the men's room. The men standing at the urinals gave Draco a dirty look. "Sorry," he muttered, "Can't be helped."

He took her into the farthest stall. "OK, here you go. Let me know when you're finished."

"You can't leave, Draco. You have to wipe the seat off for me."

Draco groaned. "Can't you just stand or something?"

"No, silly. I don't have a doogee."

"A what?" Draco ran his hand through his hair.

"A DOOGEE." She pointed to her crotch. "You know, boys have them, girls don't. You're not very smart, are you?" The acoustics in the room amplified their voices.

Draco looked up at the ceiling. "Why me?" He could hear the man in the next stall sniggering. With a disgusted look on his face, he wiped off the seat and placed a paper protector on the seat.

"Here you go, Princess. Your throne awaits." Caroline giggled. He left the stall and held the door closed and waited. And waited. And waited. He heard her humming on the other side of the door.

"Hurry up, Caroline, I don't have all day."

"Just about finished," she yelled from the other side. "Boy, you're lucky I didn't have to go poop, 'cuz you'd have to help me wipe."

"Too much information, Caroline." More laughter came from the direction of the urinals.

"Sorry," she laughed. "I'm done." She flushed the toilet and came out of the stall. Draco picked her up once again, covered her eyes, and headed toward the door.

"Wait! I have to wash my hands." Draco groaned again and took her to the sink where she began to lather her hands with soap and water.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…" Caroline sang in a much too loud voice.

"Now what are you doing?" Draco sounded defeated.

"I've got to sing 'Row, row, row your boat' two times to make sure my hands are all clean. You messed me up…now I've got to start over."

Caroline started singing at the top of her lungs once again. An older gentleman walked up to the sink next to hers. He smiled at her and in his baritone voice started singing with Caroline. "Row, row, row your boat…"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Does anyone have a loaded gun?" he muttered to himself.

A small audience was waiting for them as they left the men's room. Several Chucky Chicken employees and a few customers started applauding. Caroline took a bow. Draco looked like he wanted to strangle somebody.

Hermione was leaning against the wall desperately trying not to laugh – and she wasn't succeeding. She handed Draco his jacket with a smirk that could be compared to one of his own. He leaned in close to her and whispered in her ear, "Don't. Say. A. Fucking. Word."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you once again for the lovely reviews and saving in your alerts and favs. I'm not worthy. ;) Sorry for taking so long to post this next chapter - I was having computer/virus issues. Anyway, here it goes...

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and Zack) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 3

Blaise Zabini sat at the bar in Draco's flat and had tears in his eyes. He was bent over laughing as Draco told him of the day's events.

"Whoo boy, I'd pay good money to see the great Draco Malfoy get handled by a four-year-old. I gotta meet this kid. She sounds like she's got a lot of moxie."

"But that's not the half of it," said Draco. "She's got that sweet angelic look going for her too. She really knows how to work it." He recalled the impression she made on him when he first laid eyes on her.

Blaise took another drink of his firewhiskey. "That's just so weird you having a sister, excuse me, half-sister."

"Yeah, it's hard for me to wrap my head around what my father did to Granger. Lucius was one sick bastard. Hard telling what other things he was into. I don't even want to know."

"What about Granger? What's she looking like these days? Does she still have that bushy hair and know-it-all attitude? Merlin, she was so annoying."

"Actually she's pretty easy on the eyes and has mellowed out a lot. She gave in too easily when I offered to take them to lunch. Caroline knows which buttons to push to get her way with Granger."

"It looks like Caroline knows which buttons to push to get her way with _you_ too just after one day!" He finished off his drink and lit a cigarette. "So what's next? Are you going to see them again?

"Caroline left her purse in my car the other day, so I'm going to have to return it to her." He held the straps of the little pink purse on the tip of his finger. "There's a card in here with her address and phone number on it."

"You mean you went through her purse? Isn't that a cardinal rule for all women never to go through their purse?"

"Of course I went through it. The rule doesn't apply to four-year-olds. What am I going to find in there, condoms? Geez Blaise, get a grip."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So when are you going to see them next?"

"Caroline let it slip that Granger has a date Friday night. Apparently she's been seeing this guy since she's been back." Draco raised an eyebrow and gave Blaise 'that' look.

"Uh oh, I know that look. You're up to something. You haven't even met the guy" Blaise had known his friend too long and knew how his brain worked. "So what are you planning? Are you going to hex Granger's date so that he has boils all over his face? Or maybe give him a case of elephantitis?" Blaise was always game for a little mischief.

Draco laughed, "Tempting, but I have another plan. And you're going to help me."

* * *

That night Draco had a strange dream.

_Draco was in one of the rooms in the dungeons. Lucius was sitting in a chair with one leg crossed over the other. He was holding a glass of red wine and looked very relaxed. _

"_Welcome to my party, Draco," he drawled. "You are the guest of honor." Draco heard whimpering come from somewhere but couldn't tell where it was coming from…_

* * *

Hermione was getting ready for her date. She picked out a royal blue halter dress that showed enough to be interesting but still left some things to the imagination. Caroline was primping right next to her mother. She loved getting into Hermione's make up although she seemed to always put on a little more than necessary.

It was 15 minutes until Zack was to pick her up when the phone rang. It was Caroline's babysitter, Mrs. Grobin, calling to say that she wouldn't be able to baby sit tonight. A radio station called and said she won two tickets to the premier of a play opening tonight. Of course, it was Draco pretending to be from the radio station. He told her the tickets would be waiting for her at the theatre.

After Hermione hung up, she cursed under her breath. Where was she going to find someone to watch Caroline this late?

Remarkably a minute later, the doorbell rang. Hermione opened the door to find Draco standing there with Caroline's pink purse in his hand. She immediately became suspicious.

"Nice place you have here, Granger." He looked around and nodded his head. She and Caroline lived in a small cottage with wildflowers growing around the perimeter of the yard. It was a cozy home and Hermione loved it.

"Malfoy, what do you want? I don't have time to deal with you right now. My babysitter just cancelled on us and my date is supposed to be here in 10 minutes."

Draco stepped inside and slowly looked Hermione up and down drinking her all in. "Wow! You clean up pretty good there." He tried to pry his eyes off her but had to shake himself out of his trance. "Actually I was just dropping by to give Caroline her purse that she left in my car the other day."

"How did you find out where we lived?" She was feeling self-conscious and crossed her arms across her chest. The way he looked at her made her stomach flip.

Hearing Draco's voice at the front entryway, Caroline ran out of her mother's bedroom and hugged Draco around his knees.

"I looked in Caroline's purse and found your address and phone number."

Caroline reared back her foot and kicked Draco in his shin with all her might. "Ow, shit, what did you do that for?"

"You looked in my purse. Don't you know that you're not supposed to look in a lady's purse?" Caroline gave him a stern look.

"So I've been told. I'm sorry, Cupcake, but I wanted to find out where you lived so I could return it to you."

"Okay, I'll forgive you this time. But you still owe me a pound for cursing." She held up her arms so he could pick her up. She still had on all the makeup along with a feather boa and floppy hat.

He picked her up and noticed the makeup. "My, don't you look like a miniature hooker. What are you doing - running baby brothel here, Granger?"

Hermione scowled at him as the door bell rang again.

"Mummy, what's a hooker?"

"I'll explain it to you when you're 30," said Hermione as she opened the door. "Hi Zack, come on in," she said with a warm smile.

Zack was a little shorter than Draco. He had shoulder length dark brown hair that was tucked behind his ears. He work an expensive Italian suit, Draco noticed, and a signet ring on his pinkie. Draco knew at once that Hermione's new beau was a player. What she saw in him was a mystery.

"Hey Beautiful, you look good enough to eat," Zack purred as he leaned in to kiss her…a little too long for Draco's liking. Hermione jerked away from his kiss - an action that was not lost on Draco.

"Eww, gross." Caroline made a face and stuck out her tongue.

"Who's he?" Zack finally noticed Draco standing there holding Caroline.

"He's Malfoy, and he's leaving." Hermione gave Draco an evil glare.

"Hold on, Granger. You said your babysitter left you high and dry. Why don't you let me watch Caroline tonight?"

"Do I have 'imbecile' written on my forehead? You must be mental to think I'd let you…"

"Aw, come on, Granger. What are your choices? Cancel your date – or better yet – take Caroline with you? Or…you can leave her with me. We'll have a good time. Right, Cupcake?" he said to Caroline. She vigorously nodded her head with a big smile on her face.

"Please mummy. Draco smells good – not like Mrs. Grobin. She stinks." Caroline held her nose. "Her bum burps a lot."

Draco had a confused look on his face. Hermione explained in a whisper, "She has some intestinal problems and passes gas a lot."

Caroline giggled. "Yeah, she farts!"

"Okay, I get the picture." He could help but laugh. "So what do you say? Let me watch Caroline for you."

"Yeah, Hermione, leave the kid with Blondie here. He doesn't look like he could hurt a fly," Zack chimed in.

If he only knew. Did Hermione just hear Draco growl? She rolled her eyes.

"Would you mind waiting outside for me, Zack? There are a few things I need to discuss with Malfoy. I'll be out in just a minute."

Draco put Caroline down and turned to Hermione with his hands on his hips. "I thought you had better taste in men. Where you'd pick up this loser?"

"He's not a loser, and he's also none of your business."

"But it is my business now that I know about Caroline. I now have to protect her from the slime her mother brings home."

Hermione took a deep breath and ignored his comment. "Now, out of the kindness of my heart and against my better judgment, I'll let you spend time with Caroline…just this once. Don't think this is going to a common occurrence.

"Here are the ground rules…First, no magic in the house. Period. Second, no sweets or she'll be up all night. And don't think you can sneak in a little magic or a little treat because Caroline tells me everything. Third, she gets a bath at eight and should be in bed by nine o'clock. Any questions?"

"Nope, I think we can handle it." Draco held the door open for her. He debated on whether or not he should give her a big sloppy kiss in front of Zack. Nah, it's best not to piss Granger off too much. "Don't worry about a thing. She's in good hands."

Zack and Hermione finally drove away from the house. Unbeknownst to them, a black BMW pulled away from the curb and started to follow them.

* * *

"Okay, Caroline, what do you want to do first?" Draco rubbed his hands together. "How about some ice cream?"

"Mummy said I can't have sweets. It's one of the rules."

"Let me tell you something about rules, Caroline. Rules are made so they can be broken."

"But breaking rules is wrong. Everybody knows that," said Caroline.

He bent down on one knee and looked straight into her blue-gray eyes. "No, that's not true. Breaking rules is wrong only if you're _caught_ breaking the rules. Understand?"

She looked at him confused, but nodded her head anyway.

"Good. What your mum doesn't know won't hurt her. This will be our little secret. Now, let's clean that crap off your face. _Scourgify!"_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you once again for the wonderful reviews. You put a smile on my face. The first part of this chapter is about the "date." The second is about Draco's babysitting abilities. There is also a bit in there for all you Tom Felton fans.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 4

Hermione and Zack arrived at the restaurant and were seated immediately at their table. The atmosphere was very romantic with candles glowing at each table.

At Draco's instruction, Blaise followed the couple from Hermione's cottage. He parked his black BMW around the corner from the restaurant. He silently walked into the restaurant and took a seat at the bar. He was somewhat hidden but still had a good view.

Blaise was ready to put Draco's plan into action. Get rid of Hermione's date, no matter what kind of guy he was. This was going to be easier than he thought because the guy looked like he was a gigolo.

First, he needed to find an attractive woman. Luckily a pretty blonde was seated a couple of places down from him. Her name was Amber and after a half an hour and a couple of drinks, Blaise had her agreeing to his little scheme. He promised he'd take her out at a later date.

* * *

Hermione excused herself to the ladies' room. That was Amber's cue. She got up from the stool at the bar and slowly walked over to Zack. She took Hermione's seat and leaned in close to Zack, much to his surprise.

Blaise was enjoying Amber's performance. She leaned in even closer to Zack, giving him a good view of her breasts. She whispered something in his ear, and he started smiling. He put his hand up her skirt and rubbed up and down her thigh. She put a note in his breast pocket. With a little kiss, she sauntered out the door.

Zack discretely looked at the note and smiled. The pretty blonde wanted him to meet up with her at a new club called 'Dare' that had one of London's hottest DJ's. She promised a night he wouldn't forget.

Hermione and Zack had yet to sleep together. She hadn't had sex with anyone since the night she was raped. She always became uneasy when he tried to advance things. He was tired of waiting and was ready for some action.

Phase one of Draco's plan was complete.

* * *

Hermione returned to the table and sat down. Zack took her hand. "Hey baby, I just got a call from New York. I have to return to the office to take a conference call about the merger. I'm sorry to cut our date short."

"What? Now? Can't this wait?"

"Afraid not. They're waiting on me now. It's still the afternoon in New York. I don't have time to take you home so I called a cab for you."

"You what? You don't have the time or decency to take me home?" Hermione's face flashed with anger.

"I'm sorry baby. I'll make it up to you." Zack stood and kissed her on the top of her head. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said as he was leaving.

Hermione just sat there with her mouth gaping open. She couldn't believe he would ditch her like that. She downed her glass of wine and was about to pour another from the carafe, when he heard a voice behind her.

"Granger? Hermione Granger?" She turned around to see a very handsome man with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and the brightest smile she's ever seen. He looked familiar.

"I thought that was you. You probably don't remember me. Blaise Zabini from school. I was in Slytherin." He got a good look at her. He could see why Draco was attracted to her. She was beautiful. Her body filled out nicely since school, and she actually tamed that hair so that it had a sexy, wild look about it.

"Oh, yes, of course. Nice to see you again, Blaise."

He took a seat next to her. "I noticed your date left in a hurry. I was supposed to meet a friend here for drinks, but she stood me up," he lied.

Hermione stood and picked up her clutch. "Well, I was actually just leaving. There should be a cab outside waiting for me."

"I have an idea. Why don't we leave this place and go to that new club called 'Dare' and have a couple of drinks?'

Hermione stared to protest. "I should really be getting back home..."

"Oh, come on, Hermione. A drink or two won't kill you. And we can reminisce about Hogwarts and the good ole days." Blaise plastered on a thousand watt smile that no woman could resist.

"Well, I guess one drink won't hurt."

"Let's go – the night is still young."

* * *

There was a long line to get into 'Dare.' Blaise walked with Hermione at his side to the front of the line since he knew the owner.

The club was dark and loud. Bodies were rubbing against each other because it was so crowded. Blaise took Hermione to the VIP section and ordered their drinks.

The DJ was getting the crowd riled up. The dance floor was crowded with people gyrating hips and flailing arms to the beat.

Hermione drained her second gin and tonic. "Let's dance!" She had two glasses of wine at the restaurant plus the two drinks she just finished, and she was starting to feel good. She grabbed Blaise's hand and dragged him to the dance floor.

She closed her eyes and moved to the beat of the music. Over on the other side of the dance floor, Zack and his new acquaintance, Amber, were dancing obscenely close. Blaise caught Amber's eye and winked. She nodded and winked back.

Still dancing, Blaise carefully guided an oblivious Hermione closer to Zack and Amber. "Isn't that the guy you were with at the restaurant?" Blaise turned Hermione around to face Zack.

Her eyes widened. "Conference call, huh? You lying son-of-a-bitch."

"Aw, baby, let me explain. It's not what it looks like." Zack was pleading. She hit him full force across the face. Amber silently stepped away.

"I'm sure it's exactly what it looks like," huffed Hermione. She turned to leave. "I'm out of here!"

"Wait a minute." Blaise grabbed her arm and discretely shot a curse toward Zack's crotch with a flick of his wand. All of a sudden Zack grabbed his crotch and screamed.

"My balls…my dick is on fire." Zack ran frantically to the men's room.

Hermione started laughing. "I guess he won't be using _that_ tonight. Let's go get another drink."

* * *

When Draco and Caroline finished their ice cream, they sat down on the couch and started watching movies. Draco thought it was nice and comfortable sitting there with her. He was very content being single, but sitting there with Caroline, he realized he might be missing something – maybe a family of his own? As she snuggled up against him, he wondered what it would be like to have a daughter like Caroline. Would he be capable of loving someone unconditionally?

After watching a Mona Arizona movie twice, Draco pleaded with Caroline to select another movie.

"How about '_The Borrowers_'? It's one of my favorite movies," said Caroline.

"Sure, pop it into the DVD player." Anything would be better than Mona Arizona's twangy voice.

Caroline popped some popcorn in the microwave. She had to show Draco what a big girl she was, and that she could do it herself. She placed the big bowl of popcorn on her lap.

The movie started when Caroline said, "I really like that Peagreen boy. He's cute."

"He looks like a wanker to me. The kid is a terrible actor." Draco grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed it in his mouth piece by piece.

"Well, you look like a wanker to me." She stuck her tongue out at Draco. "What's a wanker anyway?"

"I'll explain it to you when you're 30."

* * *

Giving a child a bath was another new experience for Draco. He used his wand to make the bath water the right temperature. He poured the whole bottle of bubble bath in the tub and waved his wand so that the bubbles were constantly changing colors. Caroline loved it and began blowing the bubbles around. Draco went to the linen closet in the hallway and pulled out a couple of scarlet towels.

"Those aren't my towels. Mine are pink. And where are my jammies? You forgot my jammies."

Draco sighed and turned back to the hallway. He walked into her bedroom and immediately felt ill. It was as if someone vomited pink everywhere – the bed, the curtains, the carpet, the walls. There was even a stuffed pink dragon on her bed. A pink dragon? A princess theme ran throughout the room. He grabbed the pajamas off her bed and got the pink towels.

When he stepped into the bathroom, he didn't see Caroline. His heart started to beat faster in a panic. He strode over to the tub and pushed away the bubbles to see her still, lifeless body submerged under the water.

Draco froze. "Caroline!"

Just as he reached in the bathtub to grab her, Caroline quickly sat up, splashing water all over the place. She started laughing hysterically.

"Oh fuck!" Draco shouted and jumped back.

"You thought I drownded. I punk'd you."

"Wha...punk'd? You scared the shit out of me. Do you want to give me a heart attack?"

She continued to laugh like a hyena. "And you used the f-word. That's gonna cost you double."

* * *

"So tell me about his Zack guy that your mother's seeing." Draco was sitting on the edge of Caroline's bed as she was picking out some books to read. He was absentmindedly fiddling with her pink dragon. "Do you like him?"

At the mention of Zack's name, Caroline became very quiet. She shrugged her shoulders. "Mummy really likes him. He's here all the time."

"But you don't like him?" Draco continued to pry.

She slowly shook her head. Her gray eyes looked so sad it almost broke Draco's heart. "He says mean things to me sometimes. He called me a bastard. I don't know what that means, but I think it's bad."

Draco could feel his blood pressure rise. He clenched and unclenched his fists several times. He rubbed his eyes and tried to reign in his temper.

"Zack's not going to be my new daddy, is he?"

"Over my dead body."

* * *

After reading a couple of stories, Caroline wanted Draco to see her scrapbook. He was tired and sighed but decided to humor her anyway.

On the inside was hidden pocket that held her birth certificate. Draco noticed two things right away. One, her birth weight was incredibly low. And two, the space where the father's name was supposed to be written was left blank. A wave of sadness pulled at Draco's chest. Sad at what happened to Hermione and sad the way Caroline came into this world.

He flipped a couple of pages to see a picture of a newborn Caroline in an incubator. She was so small with tubes and other machines around her. Hermione was looking through the glass with a look of concern and love. Throughout the scrapbook were pictures of a very happy mother and daughter. Draco had to laugh when he saw Caroline dressed up for Halloween as a witch. How ironic.

Draco was exhausted. He could now understand why Hermione said that Caroline shouldn't have sweets. Before putting her to bed, Caroline ran around and jumped on the couch cushions. She jumped on Draco's back and demanded a piggy-back ride. He finally got her settled down. Okay, he really cheated - he used a calming spell on her and tucked her into bed.

He went into the living room and collapsed on the couch. How did Hermione do this every day?

Just as Draco was dozing off, Blaise walked in with a very drunk Hermione tossed over his shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you once again for the lovely reviews. You are all too kind. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. Even though the chapters have been lighthearted for the most part, that won't always be the case - just to let you know.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 5

"What the hell, Zabini? I told you to get rid of her date, not bring her home pissing drunk."

"What can I say, the lady likes her liquor." Blaise unceremoniously dumped Hermione's body on the floor.

"So I take it you were successful?"

"It was easy. The scumbag took the bait hook, line and sinker. And I cast a burning spell on his balls. He was screaming like a little girl. That ended the date on a high note. No pun intended."

"Excellent." Draco grinned and looked down at the semi-conscious Gryffindor princess. It was amazing to see how the brightest witch of her age could be reduced to a blubbering drunk.

Hermione started to laugh as she tried to get up on her feet. She grabbed a hold of Draco's legs to pull herself up. Draco reached under her arms and lifted her up to her full height – she was still a head shorter than he even in heels. He could smell the alcohol on her breath and cigarette smoke in her hair.

Hermione looked up at him and grinned. She pinched his cheeks. "You are so cuuutte!" She let go of his cheeks and wrapped her arms around his neck. She then crashed her lips against his and started kissing him fiercely.

Draco's eyes widen in surprise. It happened so fast he wasn't sure what to do. He finally decided to enjoy it and placed his arms around her waist. He pressed his lips harder to hers and deepened the kiss. Something felt oddly familiar.

All of a sudden, Hermione broke off the kiss, leaned her head back and moaned. "Mmm, so yummy." And with that, she passed out in Draco's arms.

Blaise sat in one of the chairs by the fireplace and laughed. "Malfoy, you certainly have a way with women."

"Shut it Blaise. Now what am I supposed to do with her?"

"Well, you could throw her in the shower and douse her with cold water. Or you could take her to her bedroom and fuck her."

"She's unconscious, Blaise." He rolled his eyes.

"That never stopped you before."

"Ha, ha, very funny. I've never shagged a woman that wasn't completely aware of the pleasure I bestowed upon her." He smirked and carefully laid Hermione on the couch.

"Yeah, whatever you say, mate," Blaise snorted.

* * *

"What's going on?" Caroline came into the room rubbing her eyes. "You woke me up."

"Sorry about that, Cupcake. We didn't mean to wake you. Why don't you go back to bed?"

Caroline looked past Draco and pointed to Blaise. "Who's he?"

"Caroline, this is my friend, Blaise. Blaise, this is Caroline."

She extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you Blaise."

Blaise took her little hand into his and kissed the top of it. "The pleasure is all mine, little Darlin'." He flashed his brilliant smile and winked at her.

Caroline smiled back and dipped her head shyly. She then noticed Hermione on the couch. She bent over close to Hermione's face and sniffed. In her matter-of-fact voice, she said, "Mummy's drunk, isn't she?"

"No, not at all. She was just a little tired is all."

"Don't bullshit me, Draco!" She put her little fists on her hips.

Draco folded his arms over his chest and looked down at her. "Caroline," he warned, "I think it would be best if you'd go back to bed."

"No, I don't want to." She raised her chin and stomped her foot.

Draco was losing his patience. "If you don't go back to bed right now, your bottom is going to be real sore, real soon."

"You're not the boss of me. You won't dare spank me."

Draco's icy glare at her could have frozen Hades. "Are you sure about that?"

To diffuse the situation, Blaise grabbed her arm and started leading her away. "Hey, why don't you show me your room?"

Caroline looked back over her shoulder and scowled at Draco. "Meanie."

* * *

Draco paced back and forth a couple of times trying to decide what to do with Hermione. He picked her up and took her to the only other bedroom in the small cottage. This was obviously her bedroom because was decorated in scarlet and gold colors. He dumped her on the bed so that she slightly bounced a couple of times. She rolled over on her side and moaned in her sleep.

The royal blue halter dress really looked good on her, but Draco thought it would be best if he changed her into some night clothes. He was tempted to do it the old-fashion way – just strip her down. But the gentleman that he was (yeah, right) he thought transfiguring her clothes would be a better decision in the long run.

In the next room, Blaise was softly singing an Italian lullaby to get Caroline to go back to sleep. Draco didn't know he could sing and needed to remember to tease him about it later.

Draco was very tired so he crawled into bed next to Hermione – fully clothed, of course. He lay down on his side and started moving Hermione's hair away from her face. He studied her carefully for a few moments and gently traced the features on her face with his fingers. Listening to Blaise's soothing voice singing in Caroline's room, Draco drifted off to sleep and had another strange dream…

_He was in the small room in the dungeons again. Lucius was still seated. "I've brought you a present, Draco." He produced the infamous Malfoy smirk on his face._

_The room was very dark, but there were plenty of candles to lighten up the room so Draco was able to see. In the corner of the room was a canopied bed. Lying on the bed he saw a small form huddled away from him._

_Draco looked at Lucius confused. "What the hell?"_

* * *

Draco woke to find two blue-gray eyes staring back at him. "What are you doing in Mummy's bed?" She was lying between Hermione and Draco. Hermione was still dead to the world.

"You're in my spot. I always sleep on that side when I sleep with Mummy." She started kicking him with both of her feet trying to push him off the bed.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I need coffee anyway." Draco got up and went to the kitchen. He looked uncertain as he tried to figure out how to operate the muggle coffee maker.

"Do you need help? I've done it lots of times." Caroline had watched her mother make coffee in the past, so she was confident she knew how to do it. She pushed a chair to the counter and climbed up on it. She then scooped double the amount of coffee needed and filled the pot only halfway with water.

A tap, tap, tap sound came from the kitchen window. Draco opened it and let a dark brown owl in.

"Hey, that's an owl. You can't let an owl in the house. It will poop all over and Mummy will get mad."

Draco took the letter from the owl and gave it a small piece of bread. "Don't worry, the owl's not staying. He just came to deliver a letter from Blaise." Draco poured himself a cup of coffee.

"The owl can deliver your mail? That is so cool! Can I have an owl?"

Draco took a drink of his coffee and immediately spit it out and grimaced. "Yuck, this coffee could choke a gorilla. How many scoops did you use anyway?"

Caroline just shrugged her shoulders with her palms up. She was more interested in Draco's letter. "So, what's the letter say?"

He started reading the letter silently.

_Draco, _

_After I left Granger's house last night I met up with my accomplice, Amber. We're going out tonight and her friend needs a date, so I told her you'd go. Remember, you owe me for helping you out. Besides, this girl seems nice – not like some of the skanks you go out with._

_We'll talk later._

_B._

Caroline was leaning next to Draco looking at the letter. "What's a skank?"

Draco looked at her with his eyebrows raised in surprise. "You can read?"

"Sure. Why? Do you need help with some of the words?"

Draco just shook his head. "Never mind."

* * *

As Draco and Caroline sat at the kitchen table eating their cereal, Hermione finally made an appearance. She looked like she was run over by a truck. She was hung over and in a foul mood. When she woke up, she didn't notice the hangover potion Draco left for her on her nightstand.

"Why are you still here? Don't you have a manor to go home to? People to torture?"

"Actually the manor is being renovated. I've decided to demolish some of the areas that have 'bad associations' with them. I have a flat not too far from here. As to why I'm still here…someone had to watch Caroline while you were passed out. What kind of mother are you anyway?"

"It's your entire fault. If you hadn't interfered with my date…"

"Whoa, what do you mean? I had nothing to do with your date last night. I can't believe you'd think I would go so low…"

"I'm not blind or stupid. That stunt was classic Slytherin – a Draco Malfoy production. You're still the controlling, manipulative son-of-a-bitch you were in school." Although she pretended to be outraged, secretly she was glad Draco got rid of the egotistical prat for her. He didn't have to know that she was going to break it off with Zack anyway.

"Yes, but I'm a kinder and gentler controlling, manipulative son-of-a-bitch." He gave her a cheesy grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Also, I notice there is an empty ice cream carton in the trash bin." She folded her arms across her chest and looked at Caroline. "What is the rule about sweets at night?"

"But Draco said…"

"I don't care what _Draco _said. You know the rules. What happens when you break the rules?"

Caroline lowered her eyes and mumbled, "Time out."

"That's right. Go sit in your 'time out' chair until I tell you to get up, Caroline." She slowly walked to the chair in the corner of the kitchen – her head hung low in shame.

"Aw, come on, Granger. Lighten up on the kid. It wasn't her fault. You can blame me."

"Oh, I blame you alright. Knowing you, you probably used magic too." She cut him off as he started to protest. "_You're_ supposed to be the adult. _You're_ supposed to set a good example. Therefore, y_ou're_ going to join her in 'time out'." Hermione dragged another chair to the corner next to Caroline's.

"You've got to be joking." He looked over at Caroline and saw her smirking at him.

Hermione gave him her best PMS look that would have frightened Voldemort. "Do I look like I'm joking? Sit. Down. Now."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I appreciate all your wonderful reviews and comments. Thanks for sticking with the story so far.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 6

"Ow, you're hurting me!" Caroline whined.

"Hold still, will you? Why couldn't you have straight hair?" Draco had been battling with Caroline's curly hair for the past fifteen minutes. He offered to take Caroline to her ballet lessons while Hermione had lunch with Harry. Actually it was a pre-ballet class for 3- to 5-year-olds. Hermione wanted to her meet girls her own age.

Draco was attempting to get her hair in a pony tail, but he couldn't get a good grip on her curly locks. He finally got her hair in a crooked pony tail. Caroline took the hand mirror and looked at the back of her head in the large bathroom mirror.

"That's not how it looks when Mummy does it."

"Well, it will have to do. We're running late."

"But you have to put it in a bun. All the girls have their hair in a bun."

"Look, you're lucky I got it in a pony tail. We don't have time to mess with it anymore."

Caroline folded her arms across her chest. "Well, I can't go to class without a bun. Can't you wave your wand and do magic or something?"

Draco rolled his eyes and groaned. He took his wand and swirled it around her head. "There, happy now?"

She looked in the mirror once again. "It looks like crap, but it will have to do."

* * *

They arrived at the ballet studio and the girls were milling around waiting for the class to start. This was Caroline's second lesson and she quickly joined the other girls. Draco took a seat on the side with a couple of the mothers. They looked at him with interest; one looking at his left hand to see if he had a ring on his finger.

"There's that short girl." Sarah, one of the taller girls whispered loudly to a couple of other girls nearby. "I didn't know they allowed babies in this class." The other girls started snickering.

"I'm not a baby." Caroline had her hands on her hips.

"Well, you look like a baby, talk like a baby, and smell like a baby. I bet you even wear nappies. Maybe that's what's that smell is." The other girls were giggling at Sarah's comments. She was obviously the ring-leader. Draco saw himself years ago as he observed Sarah's behavior. Had he really tormented people that badly when he was younger? The answer was that he did a lot worse.

Draco looked over at the situation, curious to see how Caroline handled herself. The teacher was speaking with one of the other mothers and didn't notice the exchange going on.

Caroline's face started to get red. She backed up a few steps, lowered her head and head-butted Sarah in the stomach. The awful girl landed on her derriere with a big thump.

"Miss Harris, Miss Harris! The new girl just attacked me!" The teacher looked over and gasped at the situation. She ran over to help the fallen girl get up.

"Miss Granger! That is not appropriate behavior in this studio and will not tolerated. If you cannot control yourself, you'll be asked to leave. Now go sit over on the side with your father until you can calm yourself." Since Draco and Caroline had similar features, strangers just assumed they were father and daughter. Since it was too hard to explain, Draco just let it go.

"But she start…"

"No excuses, Miss Granger, now go!"

"Yes, ma'am." Caroline lowered her head and slowly walked over to sit with Draco. She mumbled, "And he's not my father, you old cow." Luckily the teacher didn't hear her.

Draco was trying to hide a smile. He was glad Caroline wasn't afraid to defend herself. He leaned over and whispered, "We'll talk about this later." He tried to sound stern with her, but was failing miserably.

Caroline looked up at him confused. Wasn't he supposed to yell at her? She sighed with relief and watched the other girls. But the more she sat there, the angrier she got. She was going to make Sarah pay.

At Miss Harris' instruction, the girls started warming up. The class was interrupted when her cell phone rang. "Excuse me, ladies; continue on while I take this call. I'll be just a moment." She waved them on as she left the room.

Draco thought that was rude of the teacher to take a call in the middle of class. He sighed and looked bored. Sarah and the other girls were just waiting around goofing off. Sarah was trying to show off doing little turns and spins here and there. She was clumsy, but she thought she looked good. She got closer to Caroline and said, "Babies can't do these kinds of moves."

Caroline's blue-gray eyes bore into Sarah with great concentration. Sarah started spinning again. Caroline began to move her index finger in a circular motion. Sarah continued spinning faster and faster – like a top.

"I can't stop!" screamed Sarah. "Miss Harris! Somebody! Help!"

Draco looked down at Caroline and noticed her face was red while she stared at the spinning girl. He also noticed the movement of her finger. He looked at the tall girl spinning and looked back at Caroline's finger. He looked back and forth a few times and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Draco quickly grabbed Caroline's hand to stop her finger from moving. Sarah abruptly stopped spinning and crashed into the piano. "Oww, my arm. I think it's broken!" moaned Sarah.

He looked down at Caroline and saw her smirk. It unnerved him. He quickly picked her up and left the room.

* * *

"What the hell was that all about?" He dragged her into a small empty room and sat on one of the folding chairs. He held her by the shoulders and shook her. Caroline started crying.

"Have you ever made something like this happen before?"

Caroline slowly nodded her head.

"Does your mum know about this?"

"No." She was now really upset and tears poured down her face. "Please don't tell her. She'll get really mad at me. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt her." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with Draco's tie.

Draco scooped her up in his arms and gave her a hug. He had heard of small children showing signs of unrestricted magic, but nothing as controlled and intense as what he witnessed with Caroline. And she didn't have a wand. That scared him shitless.

"Are you mad at me, Draco?"

"No, I'm not mad. I know you're a good girl that just did a bad thing. It's not good to use magic to hurt people." He felt like he was the biggest hypocrite in the world. She slowly stopped crying.

"When I was a boy, I did a lot of mean things and hurt a lot of people. I didn't have many friends, and I was miserable and lonely. There are a lot of people who still hate me because of the bad stuff I used to do.

"I don't want that for you. You're a much better person than I was, Caroline. I want you to be happy and have a lot of friends. We just have to learn how to control your temper – and your magic." He smiled down at her. "Feel better now?"

Caroline smiled and nodded. She then wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Draco."

"I love you too, Cupcake. Now, let's get out of here."

* * *

Hermione greeted Harry with a big hug. The café was noisy, but the two were able to get a table in a relatively quiet corner. They ordered their lunch and sat in comfortable silence as they ate. It was as if Hermione had never left.

She filled him in about her interviewing for a position at a pharmaceutical company. Harry, being an Auror, thought she could easily get a job at the Ministry, but she wouldn't hear of it. He couldn't understand her insisting to live in the muggle world.

"But 'Mione, the Ministry would jump at the chance to have you on board. They could use talent like yours. I could think of a dozen positions you'd be perfect for."

"I know you mean well, Harry. But I'm perfectly content to live in non-wizarding London."

"But what about Caroline? Is it fair to keep her from knowing her full potential?"

"You sound like Malfoy. He said she's really going to resentful when she grows up to find out there's a whole other world out there. It might already be too late. I know he's already used magic around her."

It was easier to deny magic when they lived in Australia because she wasn't in touch with any witches or wizards there. But now she's finding out it's harder in London because of all her friends and other witches and wizards that know her. She felt like she was fighting a losing battle.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with Malfoy." Harry ordered more tea when the waitress came by. "So what's the deal with him anyway?"

"He's been coming by a lot saying he wants to get to know Caroline better. But I think he's hanging around just to make my life a living hell."

Harry wasn't happy to hear that Malfoy was hanging around so often. "He hasn't done anything to hurt you or Caroline, has he? Just say the word and I'll…"

"No, not at all." She swirled the whipped cream on her pie with her fork. Harry could tell something was off because she never played with her food. "Actually, he's been really helpful with Caroline these past few weeks. He's taken her to the park and watched her when I have to go out for errands. Little stuff like that. They've become real buddies and that worries me. I don't want her to become too attached to him."

It seems like Malfoy's had a personality makeover because that sure doesn't sound like the old Malfoy."

"It's hard to explain. He's still conniving, manipulating, controlling, and irritating; and at times I want to wring his neck. But he's not as mean-spirited or hateful as in the past. He hasn't called me 'mudblood' once. He's actually been semi-nice to me. Maybe he's just being nice so I will let him spend more time with Caroline. Who knows?"

"Maybe he's being nice because he wants to get into your pants. Have you ever thought of that?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Her face turned a shade of pink that Harry hadn't seen in a while. "Wait. You're beginning to fancy him, aren't you?"

"Absolutely not. I'm just tolerating him for Caroline's sake." She was getting uncomfortable and wanted to change the subject. "Enough about me, what have you been up to?"

* * *

Harry explained that his project now was to go through the captured memories of Death Eaters. He had to use the pensieve to view each one, and it was a tedious job. The Ministry was trying to find out what other secrets they may be hiding – maybe unknown dark objects, new spells or curses, or some other deadly potions. He shared some of the weird stuff he found when viewing the memories. The kinky habits of the Death Eaters were the most fascinating.

"I've started to go through Lucius Malfoy's memories. There must be about twenty or so vials." He noticed how Hermione tensed up when he mentioned Lucius' name. "I'm sorry 'Mione, I can be a real inconsiderate git sometimes."

"No, Harry. It's my problem. I need to get over it and deal with it." She glanced down at her watch. "Hey, I've got to go. I've lost track of the time."

They hugged good-bye and promised to get together again soon. She hoped maybe next time Ginny and Ron would be able to join them.

* * *

Caroline was in the living room dancing to Lady GaGa. She wore mirrored aviator sunglasses and was shaking her booty. "Come on, Draco, let's dance!"

"There's no way I could keep up with you." He had a pounding headache after listening to song after song. Caroline had incredible energy, and it was making him tired just watching her.

He walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. Ahh, Granger had a six pack in the refrigerator with his name on it. Speaking of Granger, where the hell was she? She should have been back a couple hours ago.

Blaise set him up with yet another blind date, so he needed to get home to get ready for it. The last one didn't go so well, so he wasn't going to put a lot of effort into this one. But he wanted to clean up a bit just in case.

Draco was just about to open a beer, when the doorbell rang. Caroline turned down the music and ran to the door to answer it. Standing on the porch were two uniformed police officers.

Caroline started to panic. Her blue-gray eyes widened. "Have you come to arrest me? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to use magic…"

Draco quickly covered her mouth. "Kids…you never know what they pick up from the television these days. What can I do for you?" He scooted Caroline back into the house and closed the door as he stepped out on the porch.

"Is this the Granger residence?"

"Yeah. What's this about?" He looked at them confused.

"There's been an accident."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to review. Don't worry, I'm not that heartless - Hermione isn't dead (at the present time). ;)

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 7

The lights were extremely bright in the hospital's corridor. Nurses, doctors, medical assistants and others were hustling about with purpose. Draco went up to the main nurses' station and got the attention of an attractive nurse in her mid-forties.

"Can I help you?"

"Can you tell me where they took Hermione Granger?"

"Are you her husband? We only let spouses and immediate family members into the intensive care patients' rooms."

"Yes, I'm her husband," Draco lied.

"Come with me then. And when you're finished visiting her, you need to come back here to fill out some paperwork." The nurse got up and led Draco down the corridor to the last room on the right. He entered the room slowly, not sure of what he was about to see.

All around the room were machines, tubes, and other things that would fit better in a science fiction movie. He heard the puffing sound of the ventilator and the steady beeps of the heart monitor. He could feel his heart beating in rhythm with the monitor. The body lying in the bed did not look like Hermione. Draco wondered if he was taken to the wrong room.

But the closer he got to the bed, he realized that this _was_ the correct room, and that _was_ Hermione's broken body lying in the bed. He just stood there in shock.

The doctor came in the room and introduced himself as Dr. Stevens. He explained Hermione's injuries to Draco, but he couldn't comprehend all that the doctor was saying. Along with a broken arm, a couple of cracked ribs, lacerations and bruises all over her face and body, the most worrisome injury was to her head. Hermione mostly likely was suffering from a traumatic brain injury and was currently in a coma.

"How long will she be in a coma? Can't you do anything to wake her up?" Draco was looking down at her nervously.

The doctor just shook his head and gave Draco a pitying look. "Unfortunately, we can't tell how long she'll be like this. It could be a day or two - or it could be weeks or even months. I've had a couple of patients stay in a coma for years. Only time will tell. In the meantime we're going to run some more tests to determine her brain activity."

After the doctor left, Draco drew out his wand and tried to work a number of spells, but he had no success. Disheartened, he sat down in one of the chairs beside her bed, took her lifeless hand and kissed it. "Oh Granger, what have you done to yourself?" he whispered, not expecting an answer.

* * *

From what he was able to piece together, Hermione was coming home from her lunch with Harry. It started to rain and the roads were becoming slick. A truck in front of her stopped suddenly. It was too late when she slammed on her brakes and ran right into the back of the truck.

Hermione was in a rush to get home; therefore, she forgot to use the car's safety belt. When she hit the truck, her head went through the windshield as her airbags did not deploy. Upon impact, she was thrown to the side of the road. Seconds later, another truck hit her car from behind. Had she still been in the car, there was no doubt that she wouldn't have survived. And there was no doubt that if there had been a child in the car seat, the child wouldn't have survived either.

* * *

"Mrs. Grobin, thank you for watching Caroline on such short notice." Draco was very tired after his visit to the hospital. Answering questions, (and making up answers to questions he didn't know) and filling out paperwork took its toll.

"Any time, dear." Mrs. Grobin looked exhausted after watching Caroline for a couple of hours. "I'll be keeping Hermione in my prayers."

After Mrs. Grobin left, Draco picked up Caroline and sat her down on the sofa. He explained the situation with her mother as best he could. He tried not to scare her too much.

"Can't you use your wand and wake her up like you did in the park?" Tears were cascading down her face.

"No, I tried several different spells, but none of them worked. Don't worry; we'll come up with something. In the meantime, you're coming to stay with me for a while."

"Good. I'd rather stay with you than Grandma and Grandpa Granger. They don't let me watch television when I'm there. And Grandpa is sick and his medicine smells funny."

Oh shit. Draco forgot about Hermione's parents. "Caroline, do you know their phone number by any chance?"

"Sure, Grandma made me learn it in case I needed something."

"Great, give me the number."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can only dial it when I look at the numbers on the phone." Draco groaned and handed the phone to Caroline.

* * *

Caroline was trying to think of everything she needed to pack. There were her clothes, some toys, books, crayons, games, craft supplies and so on.

"Good gods, how much stuff are you going to take anyway? You're not moving in forever." Caroline kept adding things to her pile to take.

"Oh, one more thing…" She hurried to Hermione's room and took out a box from her dresser's top drawer.

"Okay, are we ready now?" He was trying to shrink everything so it would fit in his pocket. He was going to apparate them to his flat.

"Oh, one more thing. I can't forget Daisy." Draco rolled his eyes as Caroline grabbed her pink stuffed dragon.

"Okay, let's go."

"Oh, one more thing…"

"NO MORE THINGS! Now let's go." Draco lost his patience, not that he had much to begin with.

"Gee Draco, who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?"

He growled, grabbed her arm and picked her up. Her arms held on to his neck tightly. "Now, this will feel weird, but it will only last for a few seconds. We're going to disapparate. Hold on now, okay?"

Caroline silently nodded her head. As soon as there was a 'pop' Caroline screamed.

* * *

Caroline continued screaming in Draco's ear has they apparated into his flat.

"Okay, you can stop screaming now. We're here. I just hope I have some hearing left in my right ear, thank you very much."

"Wow, that was wicked. Can we do it again?" She heard Blaise laughing – he was sitting on the sofa holding a glass of firewhiskey.

"That was priceless," Blaise smirked. "Yeah, do it again."

"Blaise!" Caroline ran to him and jumped on his lap, her knee barely missing his crotch.

"Whoa there, Darlin', you don't want to crush the family jewels."

Caroline tugged at his waistband to look in his pants. "You got jewels in there? Can I see them?"

"NO!" Draco and Blaise shouted together.

"There wouldn't be that much to see anyway. So you're not missing anything, Cupcake."

Blaise grinned, gave Draco the finger and said, "Fuck you, Malfoy." He leaned over to Caroline. "Pardon my French."

"That's not French." She shook her head back and forth.

Blaise tried to explain. "It's just a saying that people say when they use a curse word. It's kind of an apology."

Caroline was trying to get her middle finger to stand up by itself. "What does this mean?"

"It's a rude finger gesture that young ladies shouldn't do."

"Why not?"

"Come on, Blaise, don't encourage her. She'll be flipping people off right and left. Caroline, if I ever see you do that, I'll make sure you lose that finger."

Caroline giggled. "No you won't. You're just being dumb." To test her theory, she jumped off Blaise's lap, marched up to Draco and flipped him the bird. "Fuck you, Draco…Pardon my French."

Blaise and Draco just looked at each other in disbelief. Caroline looked back and forth between the two. She knew she was now in serious trouble. "Did she say what I think she said? See, look what you've done, Blaise." Draco looked at Caroline, waved his wand and silently uttered an invisibility spell on her middle finger. "I warned you."

Caroline screamed. "My finger! Give it back!"

"I'll make it reappear if you promise not use your middle finger like that and say the f-word again."

She lowered her head and mumbled, "Okay, I promise."

Draco put his hand to his ear. "I didn't quite catch that."

"OKAY, I PROMISE! Now make my finger reappear."

Draco waved his wand and reversed the spell. "We need to get you to bed." He looked around and bellowed. "Trixie, get in here!"

Trixie, the house elf, 'popped' into the room. "Yes, Master?"

Caroline was frightened with the sudden 'pop' and at the sight of Trixie. She, of course, had never seen a house elf before. Caroline started screaming again.

Trixie couldn't recall if she had actually seen a child before. She was frightened when Caroline started screaming. She crouched down and started quivering.

"Caroline, shut it!" Draco yelled. Caroline suddenly became very quiet. "This is Trixie. She's going to show you to your room and help you get settled in."

"What is she? Is she real?"

"Of course she's real; she's a house elf."

"Trixie will be pleased to serve the little Miss." She bowed a little to Caroline.

Caroline grinned at Trixie and gave her a little curtsy herself. "Please to meet you, Trixie. I know we'll be great friends."

Trixie looked up at Draco uncertainly. He tried to explain. "Caroline, we don't actually become friends with the house elves."

"Why not?"

"I don't know; it's just a rule or something."

Caroline crossed her arms across her chest and huffed. "Well, that's a dumb rule. Right, Blaise?" She turned to look at him.

Blaise was in the process of lighting a cigarette. He clicked his silver lighter shut and shook his head. "Sorry Darlin', I'm staying out of this one."

"Eww, you smoke?" She stomped over to where he was sitting and grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth. "Let me try." She took the cigarette and put it up her lips. Blaise quickly grabbed the cigarette back and snuffed it out.

"You don't want to start this nasty habit. If you smoke, hair will grow on your chest." He started laughing.

Caroline climbed up on his lap again and looked down his shirt. Being Italian, Blaise had a very hairy chest.

"Wow, you must smoke a lot."

* * *

The day's events were very tiring. Draco wanted to go back to the hospital to check on Hermione, but earlier the nurses assured him that they would call if there was any change and urged him to go home.

The doorbell rang. Blaise and Draco looked at each other. Draco said, "Don't tell me you didn't cancel the plans for tonight. That must be Pansy and her friend."

"Sorry, mate. With everything going on, I completely forgot."

Caroline ran to open the door before Draco could stop her.

Pansy stepped in the doorway dressed to kill. She had a skin-tight green dress and black stiletto heels. She was alone. Her friend agreed to meet them at a bar later. She looked around Draco and did a little finger wave to Blaise. "Hello, Blaise," she said sweetly. Blaise nodded back to her. He only tolerated her when he wanted to get laid.

She looked down at Caroline and noticed her white blond hair and grey eyes and looked back up to Draco. "Hmm, very curious. I didn't know you had a love child, Draco" she drawled.

"What's a love child?" Caroline asked innocently.

"Never mind, I'll explain later. Pansy, this is Caroline, Granger's daughter. She was in an accident, so Caroline is staying with me for a while."

Pansy was digesting this information. "Ahh, interesting. I would have never guessed you and the mudblood doing the nasty."

"Pansy, you don't know what the hell you're talking about, and frankly, I'm too tired to explain it to you." He could feel his temper rising, and if she didn't leave soon, he'd probably hit her. After Hogwarts, he couldn't stand the woman and couldn't believe he had actually slept with her in school.

"What's a mudblood?" Caroline kept eyeing Pansy and decided she didn't like her one bit. She looked like a very mean lady.

"I'll explain later. Pansy is just leaving." He started pushing Pansy toward the door.

"Now, Draco is that any way to treat one of your guests?" complained Pansy.

Caroline turned to Draco and tugged on one of his pant legs. "Draco, is she one of your skanks?"

For the first time that evening, Draco laughed – a real belly laugh. "Yes, Cupcake, that's what a skank looks like."He laughed as he pushed Pansy out of his flat and slammed the door behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Your comments and encouragement are very much appreciated. Thank you!

Just to answer a few questions:

* Hermione was first taken to a muggle hospital after the accident. That's why she wasn't at St. Mungos at first. Good observation though. Harry and Ginny are around, but not Ron yet.

* Caroline is very gifted and acts older than her age, but she is not in school yet. Her character is a combination of two people - my son (brains and curiosity) and my cousin (attitude including potty mouth).

* Narcissa hasn't been mentioned before, but Caroline will meet her in the near future. :) She will also be meeting some other favorite characters (but I won't tell you who - you'll have to stay tuned).

* _The Dailly Prophet_ will take notice of Caroline. I've got a few headlines floating around in my head. But I'm open to suggestions.

* * *

Chapter 8

The nurse was taking Hermione's vitals when Carol Granger came in the room. As she looked at her daughter her throat closed up and her heart plummeted. No one should see their child in this condition.

The nurse smiled and said, "Hermione is doing very well. All her vital signs are holding steady. Your son-in-law has been really wonderful. We practically had to push him out the door last night. He wanted to stay, but we convinced him to leave and get some rest."

"Wait, back up. Son-in-law?"

"Yes, Draco came in early this morning and brought some flowers. I think he just went downstairs to get some coffee, but he should be back soon." The nurse completed filling out the form with Hermione's vital signs and left the room.

Carol was trying to remember where she heard that name before. Hermione talked about Harry, Ron and Ginny all the time. But did she ever mention the name Draco? Why did that name sound so familiar?

Not two minutes later, Draco entered the room with a hot cup of coffee. He was a little startled to see Hermione's mother. They had never met, but Draco could see the similarities. They both had chestnut brown hair that was very curly (although Hermione's was much longer), and they had the same facial features and stature. Being in her late-forties, she was still a very attractive woman.

"Hello, you must be Mrs. Granger." He held out his hand. "I'm Dra…"

"That's Dr. Granger, but you can call me Carol since we're _family _now," she said sarcastically. The fury was slowly building on her face. "Who the hell are you to march in here and pretend you're Hermione's husband? I ought to have Security come in here and throw your sorry arse out!"

"Calm down, Dr…uh, Carol. As I was saying, I'm Draco Malfoy. They wouldn't let anyone who wasn't a spouse or family member in here to see her, so I…"

"Malfoy…Malfoy. Now I know who you are. You're the son of a bitch who raped my daughter." With all her might, she smacked Draco full force on the side of his face. The cup full of hot coffee spattered to the floor.

He held his palm to his stinging face. "Ow, shit! No, no, no that wasn't me – that was my father. I went to school with Gr…Hermione."

"Oh, so you must be the boy who tormented my daughter all those years at that damned wizarding school. We never should have allowed her to go there. She would have been so much better off attending a proper school – not some school learning that mumbo jumbo magic bullshit."

Draco started to reply when both Ginny and Harry apparated into the room. Carol about jumped out of her skin. "Can't you people enter a room normally through the door?"

"Sorry about that," Harry apologized. "We didn't think they would let us in to see her since we're not family. How's she doing? Oh, and by the way, thanks for letting us know, Malfoy." That last sentence was very hard for Harry to say, but he figured Malfoy could have been a prick and not told anyone about Hermione.

"Whatever, Potter." Draco was surprised the Weasel wasn't with them. Weren't they all joined at the hip? "She's off most of the machines and seems to be holding her own. They don't know how long she'll be in a coma. They're still doing tests. As soon as she's strong enough, we'll move her to St. Mungos."

"My daughter will be staying right where she is. You're not moving her anywhere."

"With all due respect, she'll get much better care than at this _muggle_ hospital." Draco said with a sneer. "The healers there are much more qualified, and there are a number of potions they could try that could bring her out of the coma sooner," Draco didn't know if reasoning with her would work.

"You people and your potions and spells and magic. That's a bunch of rubbish. Hermione is staying here and that's final."

Harry, trying to be the peacemaker, chimed in. "Although it kills me to say this, Malfoy's right on this one. She would a lot better off. And, too, Caroline would be able to visit her."

"Speaking of my granddaughter, where is she?"

Carol was honored when Hermione named Caroline after her, but she really never bonded with her granddaughter. She would be there should Caroline need anything, but never went out of her way to see the child. To be honest, she was a little more than afraid of her. Strange things seemed to happen when Caroline was around.

"Don't worry; she's staying with one of Hermione's friends." Draco wasn't about to tell her where Caroline was really staying since he wasn't one of Carol's biggest fans at the moment.

"Well, that's good then. That's one less thing I have to worry about." Carol said. Draco, Harry and Ginny looked at each other not believing that she wasn't more concerned about her grandchild. Carol walked toward the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must find her doctor any maybe talk to Security."

The tension lessened considerably after Carol left. "Wow, what a pleasant woman," Draco said sarcastically. "No wonder Granger turned out as uptight as she did." He thought about the hatred in her words, _**you people. **_Could it be, that for the first time, Draco felt someone else's prejudice? It was a strange, uncomfortable feeling for him.

"I didn't know she felt that strongly about the wizarding world. In any event, we need to figure out a way to get Hermione to St. Mungos." Harry was pacing back and forth. "She's obviously too fragile to move as she is."

Ginny's face lit up. "I know…I'll call Padma Patil since she's a healer there. She can come here and treat Hermione enough so that she can be moved."

Harry walked up to his wife and gave her a hug and a big long kiss. "That's why I married you…you're brilliant!" He kept giving her little kisses around her face as she giggled.

"You two need to get a room. I'm going to lose my breakfast." Draco bent over and pretended to vomit.

* * *

Ginny went to get Padma while Harry and Draco waited in Hermione's room. Draco sat in a chair on one side of Hermione's bed and Harry on the other. The silence was getting weird so Harry tried to start a conversation.

"I've been given the task of going though the memories of Death Eaters in a pensieve to see what information I can get that the Ministry didn't have already."

Draco yawned. "That sounds interesting – not."

"Yeah, it's been pretty boring so far. That is until I started going through your father's memories."

That got Draco's attention. "Do tell."

"No offence, but Lucius was a seriously fucked-up bastard."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've seen going through his memories. Someone could make a lot of money making them into a porn movie." Harry looked at Draco to see if there was a reaction.

Draco yawned again. "Not surprising."

"Your father liked to use the _Imperious Curse_ on his victims and make them do certain…sexual activities. Then he'd sit there and watch like a pervert. Mostly he did it to muggles, but occasionally he did stuff to others as well – even Death Eaters. Then after he was done playing with them, he would _obliviate_ them so no one was the wiser." Harry started snickering. "There's this one time he made Crabb Sr. sing _Hello Dolly_ in women's lingerie. I thought I'd piss my pants."

Draco grimaced. "That's a visual I think I can do without."

Harry turned somber all of a sudden. "Anyway, there is one memory I think you should see. Can you meet me at my office sometime tomorrow?"

"Not interested."

"Oh, I think you'll be interested when you see this. I'd bet my Firebolt on it."

* * *

'Operation Kidnap Hermione' was a complicated team effort. Padma came to the hospital and examined Hermione. To get rid of Carol Granger, Ginny cast a _Confundus Charm_ on her and sent her away. Harry and Draco had the difficult task of _obliviating _the medical staff on the floor and stealing Hermione's medical records. Padma got to work and cast spells that healed the bruises and cuts on Hermione's face, head and body, and repaired her cracked ribs and broken arm. Now she was ready to be moved to St. Mungos. A team of special healers was awaiting Hermione's arrival. Hopefully, they could find a way to bring her out of the coma.

* * *

Blaise had been Draco's best friend since…well, since forever. He served as legal counsel for Malfoy Enterprises. If Draco needed anything done regarding legal matters, ethical or not, Blaise would take care of it. Otherwise he mostly just hung around, drank, smoked, and chased women – the usual for a playboy. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Draco, so he offered to watch Caroline anytime Draco needed to be away.

Draco apparated into his flat totally exhausted. Casting all those spells at the hospital really wore him out. He looked over at his sofa to see Blaise asleep with a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ draped over his face. Draco raised his foot and nudged Blaise on his shoulder. "Sleeping on the job, eh?

Blaise opened his eyes. "Thanks Malfoy; you just ruined a perfectly good dream that involved a couple of blondes and baby oil and…"

"Never mind. How was Caroline? Did she cause you any trouble?"

"Nah, she's been as quiet as a mouse." They were about to find out that a quiet Caroline meant trouble.

They looked around the flat to find her in Draco's study coloring.

"What are you doing, Cupcake?" Draco asked as he and Blaise entered the room. She sat on her knees on one of the chairs and leaned over the desk. Her hand was moving back and forth with a crayon held tightly in her grip. Her tongue was sticking out to the side as she was concentrating on her task.

"Coloring," Caroline said in her sing-song voice.

They approached the desk and looked over her shoulder. Caroline wasn't coloring in a normal coloring book. She was coloring in one of Draco's 'gentleman's magazines.'

"What the bloody hell?" Draco couldn't believe his eyes. Blaise started laughing.

"This magazine has a bunch of naked ladies in it, so I thought I'd draw some clothes on them." Sure enough, Miss September was wearing a pink and blue frock that Caroline had drawn on her.

Draco was speechless. One, he was surprised she was able to find one of his magazines. He thought he had them well hidden. And two, he was pissed that she was ruining one of his magazines with her 'art.' He hadn't thoroughly 'read' that one yet.

Caroline kept coloring. "You know, my mummy's got boobies," she said matter-of-factly. "I've seen them."

Both Blaise and Draco looked at each other with their eyebrows raised.

"But they don't look like these," she continued. She flipped through a few pages and stopped at a picture of a petite brunette with nice 'features' that were not overly exaggerated. "They look more like these." Caroline had drawn flower petals around each breast.

Blaise wolf-whistled and said, "Wow, nice rack." Draco grabbed the magazine, rolled it up and smacked Blaise over the head with it.

"Ouch. Oh, that reminds me…" Blaise whispered so Caroline couldn't hear. "You really need to do something with your porn. You wouldn't want Caroline to accidentally pop one of those in your DVD player."

"What's porn?" asked Caroline. Nothing was wrong with her hearing.

"It's one of Draco's favorite kinds of movies." Blaise snickered.

"You're not helping, Zabini." Draco elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Don't listen to him, Caroline."

Blaise grinned and rocked back on his heels. "Not to worry, Draco. Being the good friend that I am, I'd be happy to take them off your hands for a while. Besides, your hands need a break."

"Ha, ha. What a comedian." Draco rolled his eyes.

"So is porn one of your favorite kinds of movies too, Blaise?" Caroline asked innocently. "Can I watch one?"

"NO!" They both said in unison.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thank you once again for your fantastic reviews. I'm sorry to say that this chapter does not have much Caroline action in it. A few of you have guessed as to what's going to happen. There will be some of you that will hate what I've done, but that's okay. I wasn't sure how graphic I was going to get in the memory of Lucius. I rewrote it a couple of times and decided to tone it down a bit. I hope you will not be too disappointed. The memory is in italics. Caroline will be back in the next chapter. :)

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 9

It was a bright, sunny morning. Not a cloud in the sky for once. Draco finished his coffee and went into his room to get ready. He had a lot to do that day. Fifteen minutes later he came out in his robes. They were the blackest of black and of the highest quality. Caroline had never seen him dressed like that. She started to giggle.

"What's wrong?" Draco looked down over his robes, thinking maybe something was on them or maybe somewhere the cloth was torn.

"You're wearing a dress!"

"What? This isn't a dress, they're my robes."

"It looks like a dress to me." She continued to giggle.

"We really do need to get going." He took Caroline by the hand and walked toward the fireplace. "We're going to use the Floo network. Promise me you won't scream."

"I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything."

Just to make certain, he said, "_Silencio_" at her and grabbed some floo power. He picked her up and yelled "Ministry of Magic!"

* * *

They arrived in one of the many fireplaces in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic and dusted themselves off. Caroline was awestruck. People were going from place to place with purpose. "Look, Draco. Everyone is wearing robes like you. Can I have my own robes? Do they come in pink?"

"Yes, you can have your own robes, and I don't know if they come in pink. I suppose you can get them in any color you want."

The Fountain of Magical Brethren really caught Caroline's eye. She ran up to it and splashed her hand in the pool of water. Opening up her purse, she grabbed a coin and tossed it into the water.

Draco smiled down at her. "What did you wish for?"

In a very serious tone she said, "I can't tell you or it won't come true." Their grey eyes locked together momentarily. Every time she made a wish, whether it was on a star or a coin tossed into a fountain, she always wished for the same thing. She didn't dare tell anyone about her wish because she wasn't taking any chances.

Draco took Caroline by the hand and headed toward security. After being cleared, they proceeded to take the lifts to Level Two where the Aurors offices were.

There were a million things that Draco would rather do than to visit Potter. But he promised he'd drop by to see this "special memory" of Lucius'.

Tonks came out of one of the offices and stooped down to Caroline's level. Her hair was purple then quickly changed to orange. Caroline started to laugh. "That's wicked. How do you do that? Can you change your hair to pink? That's my favorite color."

"Sure, that's my favorite too. You must be Caroline. I've heard so much about you. My name is Tonks. I'm Draco's cousin." Her hair changed to a vibrant pink. She stood up. "Hello, Draco. Harry's been chomping at the bit waiting for you to come."

"Oh, joy!" He said sarcastically.

"While you see Harry, I'll take Caroline on a little tour of the building."

"Thanks for the offer, but Caroline stays with me, _Nymphadora_."

She looked at him straight in the eye and said cryptically, "You really should let me take Caroline. She shouldn't be around when…"

"When what? Tell me."

She grabbed Caroline's hand and led her away. "Harry's waiting for you. I'll take good care of Caroline. We'll have an adventure. Right girlfriend?" She looked down at Caroline and winked.

"Right!" Caroline tried to wink back but it resulted in a blink instead.

* * *

Draco stepped into Harry's office and looked around. The room didn't have a lot in it – a desk, a couple of chairs, a filing cabinet…and a pensieve.

"Okay, here I am, Potter. I'm a very busy man, so let's get this over with." He noticed Harry looked nervous.

Harry gestured to the pensieve. "It's all ready for you. But you might want to drink this before you go." He handed Draco a glass of firewhiskey. Draco rolled his eyes but took the drink anyway and downed it quickly.

Draco slowly walked to the large stone object. "Here goes nothing." He leaned over and fell into Lucius' memory.

* * *

He was disoriented at first; then he realized he was in one of the small rooms in the Malfoy Manor dungeons.

_Lucius was in the room waiting for someone. The room was very dark, but there were candles lit everywhere so one could see. It was furnished with only a table and two chairs. The door opened and two Death Eaters shoved a young girl into the room. That young girl was Hermione Granger._

The realization hit him that he was going to see Lucius rape Hermione. He immediately felt sick to his stomach.

"_Ah, welcome to my party, you little mudblood bitch." He took off his cloak and draped it across one of the chairs. He started taking off his gloves one finger at a time._

_Hermione silently stood in the middle of the room. She stared straight ahead, not daring to look at him. She left her Gryffindor courage at the door. Lucius took his wand from the top of his cane and made her clothes disappear except for her bra and knickers. He circled around her never taking his eyes off her body. He flipped her hair off her shoulder with the end of his cane. He ran the snake's head end of this cane up and down her arm, and then lifted her chin with it. She scrunched her eyes closed._

_Lucius looked around the room and decided to transfigure one of the chairs into a canopied bed. He grabbed Hermione's hair and pulled her toward the bed and threw her down. He grabbed a goblet of wine and handed it to her. "Here, drink this."_

_She shook her head. "You've probably poisoned it."_

"_Probably. But you are going to drink it anyway. Do I have to use the Imperius Curse on you? Now drink."_

_She slowly sipped the wine. She had not had a lot to eat or drink lately, so it tasted good to her. She quickly drained the rest of the wine. Maybe it would be better if it was poisoned. Dying would be preferable to what she was going through now._

_The door to the dungeons opened again and in walked Draco. "You wanted to see me, Father?" He looked around at the room and noticed Lucius sitting by a table holding a goblet of wine. One leg was crossed over the other and he looked very relaxed._

"_Welcome to my party, Draco," he drawled. "You are the guest of honor." Draco heard whimpering from somewhere but couldn't tell where it was coming from._

"_I've brought you a present, Draco." Lucius smirked and nodded to the corner of the room with a canopied bed. Lying on the bed was a small huddled figure._

_Draco looked at Lucius confused. "What the hell?"_

The dreams that Draco had been having were making sense now.

"_You see, Draco, the Dark Lord has given me a task; one that I, unfortunately, cannot complete." He got up and walked over to the bed. He pulled the huddled figure around so that she faced them. Lucius grabbed her hair and pulled back her head so they could see her face._

_Draco's eyes widened. "Granger!" Whatever was added to the wine was taking effect and she looked groggy. She couldn't keep her head up._

"_Yes, the brightest witch of her age," drawled Lucius. "She's bested you in every subject, she's friends with that annoying Potter and Weasley, and she's a mudblood. Three very good reasons – how should I say this – for you to complete my task."_

"_And that task would be…?"_

"_Simple. To impregnate her."_

_Draco's eyebrows shot up. "What?"_

"_You heard me. The Dark Lord wants to make one of Potter's little friends a weak link. With one of them 'incapacitated' victory will be easier. Plus he will have a child from one of the Golden Trio to raise as his own to carry out his vision."_

"_Why me?"_

_Lucius sat back down. "Well, it's a little embarrassing. You see, I cannot father another child."_

_Draco barked with laughter. "You mean you're shooting blanks?"_

"_I guess that is one way to put it, and that is where you come in. Since we have physical similarities, the Dark Lord does not have to know."_

"_I'll know; she'll know." Realization dawned on him." Wait, you're going to _obliviate_ us, aren't you?"_

"_You are too smart for your own good sometimes, Draco."_

"_Sorry, Father, I don't want any part of this." He started to turn on his heel to leave._

_Lucius withdrew his wand. "Why do you young people always have to be so stubborn? _Imperio!_"_

_Draco froze and stared ahead. In the past Draco had been able to resist the _Imperius Curse_, but somehow Lucius was able to strengthen it substantially. He proceeded to command Draco to undress._

The real Draco watched incredulously. He knew Lucius was a twisted man, but he didn't think he would do that to his own son. Anger started to boil within him. He swore that if Lucius wasn't already dead, he would kill him with his bare hands.

_Lucius handed him a goblet of wine. He had laced it with a potion to increase Draco's libido. Not he needed it being a teenage boy, but the older wizard was not taking any chances._

_Getting more comfortable in his chair, Lucius was eager to watch the show. He was looking forward to watching his son 'perform' since he had heard all the rumors about Draco being a Slytherin Sex God. Yes, he was a very sick man indeed._

_The cursed Draco crawled like a panther on the bed toward Hermione. She looked at him with glassy brown eyes. Her brain was fuzzy and it was hard for her to get a grasp of what was going on. He hovered over her a moment before dipping his head down and attacking her neck with his lips. She feebly tried to push him off, but she was no match for his strength._

_The potion in the wine Draco drank kicked in. He feverously kissed up and down her jaw and brutally crashed his lips against hers. She whimpered and struggled to get out from under him as she realized what was inevitable. That made him even more aggressive._

_He ripped off what little clothes she had on and placed one of his knees between her thighs to separate them. She started to struggle more. "No, please, no," she begged. He grabbed her hands with one of his and pinned them above her head with ease. _

The real Draco felt helpless as he continued to watch. He would have given anything to be able to grab the other Draco off her and beat him senseless.

Having Hermione had been a fantasy of his since fourth year. Like most boys in Hogwarts, he really noticed her at the Yule Ball. He would think about her more than he should and would have given anything to have her in his bed. But not like this; never like this. It pained him to see her violated - by him no less.

_Hermione's eyes locked onto his as she pleaded, "No, please no. Don't do this, Malfoy. Please don't." She was still very weak and her attempts to stop him here futile. His stormy eyes got even darker as he plunged himself into her and took her virginity. _

_She was too small and too dry for him and cried at the pain. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed. Draco continued to thrust in and out of her like a machine. She gave up the fight and just lay there motionless as he grunted one last time and climaxed. He then collapsed on top of her._

_Lucius smiled with satisfaction. He was thankful his son did not disappoint. The Dark Lord would be very pleased._

_After Draco cleaned up and got dressed, Lucius ushered him out the door. Outside he lifted the Imperius Curse and obliviated Draco's memory of the past hour. Draco blinked a few times and said, "You wanted to see me, Father?"_

"_Oh, it can wait. You looked tired."_

"_Yeah, for some reason I feel worn out...and strange. I think I'll go to bed. Goodnight, Father."_

_Inside, Hermione was curled up in a ball on the bed. Lucius stripped away her memories as well. For all she knew, Lucius was the cause of her soreness and pain. She wanted nothing more than to get out of that room and away from that monster._

__

_

* * *

_

Draco fell back from the pensieve and stood there with a blank look on his face. Harry handed him another drink in silence. Draco fell back hard on the chair and gulped down the firewhiskey. He motioned Harry to refill it.

He shook his blond head back and forth and whispered, "I raped her, not Lucius." He put his head in his hands and rocked back and forth.

For once in his life, Harry felt sorry for Draco. "It wasn't your fault. You were cursed."

"No, I should have been stronger and fought it. I raped her."

"Voldemort himself couldn't have fought off an Imperius of that strength."

Draco looked up at Harry. "Has she seen this? Does she know about it?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I found out about it after her accident."

"Good. I want you to destroy it. She is never to see that memory."

"But she has a right to know what really happened."

Draco raked his hands through his hair. "I'll tell her about it when the time is right, but I don't ever want her to see it."

Tonks lightly knocked on the door and peeked in. "Caroline has been asking for Draco. Is it alright if she comes in?"

Harry nodded as Caroline skipped into the room. She got up close to Draco and looked in his face. "Why do you look so sad, Draco?"

For the first time, Draco looked as his daughter. He scooped her up on his lap and hugged her tightly. He was never going to let her go.

"Oh, my sweet Caroline."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Wow, thank you for being so supportive of the last chapter. I wasn't sure how everyone would react to the "twist." Thanks, once again, for your awesome reviews.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 10

Blaise took the tumbler away from Draco. The bottle of firewhiskey was almost empty.

"How many of these have you had?" Blaise asked.

"Not enough," was Draco's reply.

They both sat in silence outside on Draco's balcony. Draco had his feet propped up on the railing.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" He was referring to the memory, of course. He had never seen Draco so shaken up over anything before.

Draco closed his eyes as he replayed the day for Blaise. His voice cracked a couple of times when he got to the part about the rape. He couldn't get her pleas out of his head.

Blaise sat there in shock. "Wow, that's some pretty fucked up shit." He poured them each another drink.

Draco covered his eyes with his palms and groaned. "How can Granger ever forgive me for what I did to her?"

"There's nothing to forgive. Quit beating yourself up over something you had no control over. You both were Lucius' victims." Blaise lit a cigarette. "Look, what your father did was seriously twisted. He's to blame – not you. You can't go back and change anything. You need to get past this, move forward and take care of your daughter."

Draco knew what Blaise was saying was true, but the remorse and guilt was overpowering.

"So what happens now? What are you going to tell Caroline?"

"Tell me what?" Caroline was standing behind them in the doorway. She was in her pajamas holding Daisy, her pink dragon.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Blaise.

"Not long. I couldn't sleep. What are you two talking about, Draco?" She crawled up on Draco's lap and lay back on his chest with her head just below his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. How could anything smell so sweet?

It was killing him that she called him 'Draco.' "Your birthday is coming up soon. We were just talking about that," he lied. "What do you want for your birthday? Maybe a party?"

He heard sniffing and felt wetness from her tears on his shirt. "No, I just want my mum back." She wiped her nose on his shirt.

"You're mum will get better soon. We're working on a special potion that will help wake her up."

"What if she never wakes up? What if she dies? I'll be an orphan," she sobbed.

Could anything rip out his heart any more? "Don't worry about that, Cupcake. You'll never be alone. You're mum will get better. Besides, you have me…and Blaise."

That seemed to make her feel better. She sat up and looked back and forth between Draco and Blaise. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"Are you two gay?"

Blaise spit out his firewhiskey and coughed. "Shit, where did _that_ come from?"

"Just wondering." She shrugged her shoulders.

"No, we're not gay," Draco laughed. "Far from it."

"Well good. Then Blaise can be my boyfriend." Caroline clapped her hands.

This time Draco choked. "What?"

"Oh, Darlin', you wouldn't want me for a boyfriend." Blaise winked at her. "I have really bad habits. I smoke, I drink, I leave the toilet seat up…" Caroline giggled.

"Yeah, and see how hairy he is? He sheds all the time. Plus, he's not good enough for you." Draco smirked.

Blaise grinned and was about to give Draco the finger.

"Zabini, don't you dare give me the one-finger salute. See what I mean, Caroline? No class, that one."

* * *

"Draco! Draco!" Caroline whispered in Draco's ear as he was sleeping. "Get up! We need to get ready to go see Mummy." She shook his shoulder back and forth trying to get him to wake up.

Draco groggily rolled over in his bed and looked at the clock. "Caroline, it's only 5:30. Go back to bed." After what happened the day before, he was beyond exhausted and needed every minute of sleep he could get.

Yesterday. The day that changed his life forever. He was a father. Her father. It was too surreal and too hard for him to wrap his head around the thought. On one hand, he was elated to find out he was Caroline's father. Now that he knew, he kept thinking of the similarities between them. Not just the hair and eyes, but her temperament, her curiosity, her propensity to get into mischief. On the other hand, he was wrought with guilt at the circumstances in which she was conceived. Draco had done many, many bad things in the past, but nothing compared to this.

He promised Caroline that she could go see her mother today. This was the third time Caroline woke him up that night. To say that she was excited to see her mum was an understatement.

Finally Draco got up around 7:00 and started to stumble toward his bedroom door. He silently cursed at himself as he realized he was wearing only his boxers. Before he went outside his room, he put on some pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't alone anymore.

He headed toward the kitchen where Trixie had his coffee ready and _The Daily Prophet_ waiting for him, when out the corner of his eye he saw Caroline sitting in the living room. He had to do a double-take. She was sitting quietly in the chair by the fireplace. Her curly white-blond hair was adorned with a pink ribbon. She had on her best dress – pink with white daisies on them. In her lap was her little pink purse. She wore white socks with lace around the edge and black patent leather shoes. She was absentmindedly swinging her legs back and forth.

"Aren't you ready yet, Draco? We got to get going."

He rolled his eyes. "Caroline, it's too early to go to the hospital. Come in here and have some breakfast. Trixie is fixing some pancakes for you."

"I can't eat anything. I might get something on my dress."

"You won't get anything on your dress. If you do, we'll just go out and get you another one."

"But, this is my mummy's favorite dress. I'm wearing it just for her."

"Caroline, I promise you nothing will happen to your dress. Now just get your arse in here and eat." Draco really didn't want to start his day arguing with her.

* * *

After he had his shower and was dressed, Draco sat down next to Caroline. "Now, I have a little gift for you." Out of one of the pockets of his robes he pulled out a small velvet box and gave it to Caroline.

She opened it to find a small tennis-type bracelet with alternating diamonds and pink sapphires.

Her eyes got wide. "Wow, that's for me?"

Draco took the bracelet from the box and put it around Caroline's tiny wrist. "I know you like pink so I got this for you to wear all the time. I don't want you to take it off." He touched his wand to the clasp and made it disappear so that the bracelet wouldn't fall off.

"Oh, I'll never take it off! It's so pretty. Thank you!"She reached up and gave him a hug and a kiss. She moved her wrist back and forth to see the little jewels sparkle in the light.

"You're welcome. Now you have your own jewels and don't have to bug Blaise about his," he chuckled.

She giggled. "Yeah, you can see mine. His are hidden in his pants."

Unbeknownst to Caroline, the bracelet was charmed to be a tracking device. At any time, Draco could find her whereabouts. He wasn't going to risk anything happening to her while she was in his care. Blaise thought Draco was being paranoid and teased him that he should just microchip her ear like a dog. Maybe he was being a little extreme, but he wasn't taking chances with the most important person in his life.

* * *

They visited the flower shop close to the hospital. The shop and greenhouse had flowers and plants of every variety imaginable. Caroline looked around wide-eyed. "Wow, this is like a paradise. Can I pick out Mummy's flowers?"

"Sure, knock yourself out."

She didn't know where to start. There were plants everywhere…floor, walls and ceiling. Most of the plants had their common name. But several of the plants had a long funny name as well. "What are these words above the names?"

The florist walked over to where Caroline was pointing.

"Oh, those are the plants' genus and species. It's kind of their fancy name, as you might say. I haven't labeled all of them yet, but it's a fun little project." She smiled down at Caroline. "Now, look around and let me know if you have any questions."

"Can you help me with some of these words, Draco?" She grabbed his hand started pulling him in one direction.

"Okay, let's see. I don't even know if I can pronounce these names. _Echinacea Purpurea_ – Purple Coneflower; _Hedychium Coronarium_ – Butterfly Lily; _Lavandula Angustifolia_ – English Lavender – these are tough."

"This Pansy doesn't have a fancy name on it, Draco." She was pointing to a grouping of multi-colored pansies.

"That one's easy. _Bitchium Totalius_."

* * *

The bell above the door made a tinkling sound. Pansy Parkinson entered the shop. She immediately saw Draco and Caroline and casually walked over to them.

"Well, what do we have here? Draco and little Miss Malfoy." Caroline was too busy looking at all the beautiful flowers, that she didn't hear Pansy.

Draco turned slowly. "Speaking of the she-devil herself. Out trolling around for unsuspecting victims?"

"Why, Draco dear, you should be nicer to me. I'm having lunch with my good friend, Rita Skeeter. I'm sure she'll be interested in knowing all about the newest family addition."

"Draco, what is she doing here?" Caroline scowled at Pansy. In her hand was a bouquet of daisies she chose to take to her mother.

Pansy bent down. "Is the wittle girl wooking at the pwetty fwowers?" She was making fun of Caroline's speech problem.

"Wow, Parkinson, you've reached an all time low picking on a little kid. No one your own size left to bully?"

Caroline's face got red. She eyed a plant with long vines. With a wiggle of her finger, the vines came to life and headed toward Pansy's neck, about to choke her. Draco noticed the moving vines, looked at Caroline and shook his head. The vines stopped and dropped to the ground. Caroline stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.

Pansy was oblivious to what just about happened. "You know, Draco, you and I could have been good together. Everyone thought we made the best couple and would eventually get married. But, no, you'd rather be with that filthy mudblood. I'll make sure that everyone knows about your dirty little secret," Pansy spat. Now Draco wished that the vines where tightly wrapped around her neck.

If she only knew the truth, she could really cause a lot of problems. But luckily for Draco, he knew something that he could hang over her head.

"I'm sure Rita would also be interested to let the Wizarding community know that you don't have a pot to piss in. Your father gambled away the Parkinson family fortune. I believe I'm the only who knows outside your family, and maybe Blaise. Once word gets out, you will never be invited to another social function again, and you can kiss marrying a rich wizard goodbye." He had a satisfied sneer on his face.

For the first time, Pansy was speechless. She just stood there seething with anger. Draco paid for the flowers Caroline picked out, grabbed her hand and headed toward the door. Caroline stopped and turned back to look at Pansy. She reached in her little pink purse and took out two coins and handed them to Draco. He knew what was coming and handed the coins back to her. "No, Cupcake, she's not worth it."

Draco held her hand as they proceeded to leave. Caroline looked up at him to make sure he wasn't watching her. She looked back over her shoulder and gave Pansy the one-finger salute.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you, once again, for taking the time to review. You are all too kind. Just to let you know, Hermione's coma is about to come to an end (not in this chapter though). Stay tuned.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 11

Caroline gripped Draco's hand as he led her down the corridor. Her little shoes were echoing down the hall. She wasn't really paying attention to where they were going. She was too busy looking around at all the strange things that she had never seen before. The new and unfamiliar surroundings made her very nervous.

They reached Hermione's room and Padma was waiting for them. Before entering the room, Draco stooped down to Caroline's level.

"I'm going to go in first for a few minutes. You stay with Healer Patel and be a good girl, okay?" Caroline, still clutching the daisies, silently nodded.

Draco entered the room and slowly walked over the Hermione's bedside. Each time he saw her she looked a little better. Color came back to her face and her hair was a little silkier. She looked like a sleeping angel lying there. The potions the healers were giving her might be doing that. Whatever it was, she looked a lot better since they moved her to St. Mungo's.

He sat down in the chair by her bed and reached for her hand. He clasped her hand in both of his and lowered his head. There was so much to say and he didn't know where to start. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he thought he would feel better to get things off his chest.

"Granger…Hermione, I know you can't hear me, but I just want let you know how sorry I am for what happened in the dungeons. I should have broken through Lucius' Imperius Curse, but I was too weak." He sighed. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness…"

At that moment the doors opened with a terrific force. In stormed Ron Weasley with a murderous look on his face.

"Get your filthy hands off her." Ron pointed his wand at Draco. "_Stupefy!_" Draco was thrown back and hit the wall. He was momentarily stunned and tried to grab his wand but it was knocked halfway across the room when he hit the wall.

"You ruined her, you son-of-a-bitch. You took away the only good thing in my life." Ron had his wand pointed at Draco's neck. "You ruined us; we had a future together but you took that all away." He lowered his head.

"I took it away? You're the one who turned your back on her for Merlin's sake," spat Draco. He wondered how many other people knew about the memory.

"Lower your wand, Ron." Harry strode into the room. "You're placing blame on the wrong person. You know damn well it wasn't his fault what his father did to them."

Ron looked up at Draco. "You're a Malfoy. You're all cut from the same cloth. I don't believe for one minute that you didn't know what you were doing."

Caroline heard the noise coming from her mother's room. She got up and started toward the door. Padma grabbed her arm to hold her back. "Caroline, please sit down. You shouldn't go in there now."

"Let me go!" Caroline pulled out of Padma's grasp and ran through the door. She saw Draco being held at wand point by Ron. Harry was trying to get him to lower his wand. She saw Draco's wand lying on the floor close to her and walked over quietly and picked it up.

Ron and Harry didn't see her come in. Draco did though. He shook his head and mouthed, 'Go away.' Of course, Caroline ignored him.

She sneaked up behind Ron and pointed the wand at his arse. "You leave my Draco alone, or I'll hex you."

Ron turned around and stared at this little person with a wand almost stuck up his bum. He threw his head back and laughed. Not a funny, ha-ha laugh, but a crazy laugh.

"Oh, that's rich. Now you've got your brat fighting for you, Malfoy?" Ron snarled. He grabbed Caroline's arm roughly.

"Ow, that hurts."

"Let go of my daughter, you fucking bastard." As soon as those words left his lips, he winced.

Caroline reached up to Ron's hand that was holding her arm and bit down hard. She drew blood.

Ron shouted, "Shit, you little bitch, you bit me." When his head was turned that was Draco's chance to punch him hard in the face. He went down like a sack of potatoes. Draco flexed his hand in pain.

Harry ran over to Ron as Draco went to Caroline. He grabbed her up in his arms. "Are you okay?"

She nodded but he noticed a bruise forming on her forearm. He was going to kill that bastard for hurting her.

"What did you mean when you told him to let go of your daughter?" Draco ignored her question.

Harry had already taken Ron away promising that his behavior would be dealt with. Somehow, that didn't make Draco feel any better.

He picked Caroline up and sat her down on Hermione's bed. He took the limp and broken daisies from her hands and put them in a nearby container. Caroline was still holding Draco's wand. He put his hand over hers and said, "_Reparo_!" The broken stems mended and the daisies sprang back to life.

She looked up at him, smiled and said, "I love magic."

He smiled back at her. "Just don't let your mum hear you say that."

"Grandma Granger either. She hates magic. She wouldn't let Mummy do magic and threw away her wand. But I found it, and I hid it."

Well, that was a new bit of information, Draco thought. But it made sense. Hermione claimed it was her decision to give up magic, but it was actually Carol Granger that was behind it. What a bitch.

"You didn't answer my question about being your daughter." Caroline looked at him with her sad grey eyes. Her voice was very quiet and he had to strain to hear her.

He gathered her up and put her on his lap. "Well, it's really complicated. What has your mother told you about your father?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "She said he died in the war."

He stroked the soft curls on her head. "There really is no easy way to say this. But your father did not die in the war. I just found out that _**I**_ am your father, Caroline. Your mum doesn't even know yet." He looked at her for a reaction. He looked over at Hermione also. He might have been imagining things, but he thought he saw her eye twitch.

Caroline shook her head and looked confused. "How could you not know?"

Draco decided to edit the truth so that she could understand. "A long time ago, a very bad wizard put a curse on me and drugged your mum. Our memories were erased so we didn't know what really happened. Someday I'll tell you the whole story, but the important thing is that you're my little girl." He hugged her tighter. She hugged him back.

"That means you and Mummy must have had sex." That wasn't a question but a statement.

Draco just shook his head and chuckled. "You know, Cupcake, sometimes the things you say just astound me."

"I know, sometimes they astound me too," giggled Caroline.

"Now, you stay with your mum a bit while I talk to the healer, okay?" He sat her on the chair and turned to leave.

"Okay, Daddy." Draco stopped in his tracks. He felt like his heart would burst out of his chest at any moment. He looked back at Caroline. She had a big cheesy grin on her face.

"What are you smiling for?" Draco asked with a similar smile on his own face.

"One of my wishes came true!"

* * *

Draco met up with Healer Jenkins. "All Hermione's signs are good. We saw her eyes flutter a little bit and finger movements earlier. But don't get your hopes up too much yet. But it is a good sign. How's Severus coming along with that potion he's working on?"

"He said it's almost ready." Draco ran his hand through his hair. "I'm going to drop in on him this afternoon to get an update."

"Severus is a genius at potions. And I heard you weren't too bad yourself. If anyone can find a way to create a strong 'wake up' potion, it's Severus. The sooner, the better." He nodded to Draco and left to see another patient.

Draco walked back into the room and saw Caroline crawling into Hermione's bed.

"Mummy!" Caroline whispered in Hermione's ear. "Please wake up. I miss you so much. Please wake up!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. She snuggled up to Hermione and put her arms around her mother's neck. "Please wake up," she sobbed.

Draco had to look away. He couldn't stand to see his daughter in so much pain. He looked back at them and was surprised to see Hermione's right arm wrapped around Caroline.

* * *

Even though there were wards prohibiting anyone from gaining entry on the Hogwarts grounds, Snape had allowed Draco access to his fireplace. He kept in regular touch with this godson. So when Draco asked his help with a particular potion to bring someone out of a coma, he was all too honored to accept the challenge.

Although nothing prepared him to see Draco appear from his fireplace holding a small child. He looked back and forth between the two, stunned with the similarities.

"Hello, Severus." Draco noticed Snape staring at Caroline. "Before you say anything, I'll explain later."

He set Caroline down and warned her, "Don't touch anything."

There were too many pretty bottles with colored liquid in them for Caroline to resist touching them. She picked up a beaker with green liquid and started swirling it around. Snape grabbed it out of her hands and said, "Little girl, do you have a death wish?"

She pouted and put her hands on her hips. "My name is not little girl, it's Caroline."

"Sorry, Severus. This is Caroline. Caroline, this is Professor Snape." He gave her a warning look.

"Hmm, I see." Snape had his arms folded across his chest. He looked down at Caroline and cocked an eyebrow. She craned her neck to look up at him and folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow back at him. Snape scowled at Caroline and she scowled right back. He smirked and she returned the gesture. Not to be outdone, she stuck her tongue out at him and turned on her heel. Obviously, his intimidation skills did not work on Caroline.

"Lovely child," Snape drawled. "I don't suppose you want me to whip up a potion that gets rid of nasty little terrors, would you, Draco?"

* * *

Caroline heard a "meow" close by. She looked over to see Mrs. Norris sitting in the doorway. "Your name is Mrs. Norris? That's a funny name for a cat."

Caroline listened to Mrs. Norris' meows. "You know where to get some ice cream?"

Draco and Snape continued their discussion about Hermione's potion and didn't notice Caroline following the cat out the door.

Students crowding the hallways looked at Caroline curiously. Most of them smiled at her. It's not every day you see a little girl skipping down the hallway at Hogwarts.

Mrs. Norris led Caroline down several hallways to the kitchens. Caroline looked around in wonder. She had never seen a kitchen that huge before. House elves were busy preparing the next meal. Most of them paid no attention to the curly blond-haired girl.

She followed Mrs. Norris to the freezer. Mrs. Norris 'told' her that the ice cream would be in there.

Caroline grabbed on to the handle of the freezer door and pulled as hard as she could, but the door wouldn't open.

"Here, let me help you with that." An old wizard with a long gray beard and half-moon glasses smiled down at her and opened the door.

"Mrs. Norris said there was some ice cream in here."

"She did, did she? Well, Mrs. Norris is a very smart cat. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Albus Dumbledore. And you are…?"

"I'm Caroline. Pleased to meet you Mr. Dubleblore." She gave him a little curtsy.

He laughed and with a twinkle in his eye said, "My name is a mouthful. You can just call me Albus. Let's find that ice cream, shall we?"

He looked in the freezer and found a container of vanilla ice cream. "What's your favorite flavor, my dear?"

"I like mint chocolate chip."

The professor transfigured the vanilla ice cream to mint chocolate chip. "What a coincidence, that's my favorite too."

Two bowls with spoons appeared on the table. Caroline sat on her knees on the bench on one side and Dumbledore sat on a bench on the other. She leaned on her elbows and ate her ice cream. Mrs. Norris sat between them watching them both.

"Mrs. Norris wants some ice cream too."

"Don't you dare give Mrs. Norris ice cream." Mr. Filch strode into the room with his hands on his hips. "What are you doing with my cat?"

"She brought me here."

"Settle down, Argus. It appears that Caroline here can communicate with Mrs. Norris."

"Humph, is that so?"

Caroline piped up, "Yeah, and she said she doesn't like the new cat food you got her. It makes her poop too much." She continued to eat her ice cream.

Dumbledore threw his head back and laughed.

Mr. Filch grumbled. "I don't need some whippersnapper to tell me…"

"Oh, and by the way," Caroline interrupted, "She wants her cat box changed."

Filch turned around and grumbled as he left the room.

Thanks to Caroline's bracelet, Draco found her in the kitchens chatting away and eating ice cream with the old professor. He stood in the doorway and watched in amazement as Caroline talked to the cat and the headmaster. What a strange sight indeed.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm in your debt for all the reviews and for adding this story in your favs/alerts. :) I know many of you have been waiting patiently for Hermione to wake up. Well, here it is...

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 12

Several days went by before the potion was ready. It took Hermione no time at all to wake up after Healer Jenkins gave her the potion Snape brewed. And wake up she did.

"Get your fucking hands off me," Hermione screeched.

Draco heard Hermione's screams as he approached her room. When he entered, he saw Ron towering over her. She was crouched into a corner of the room. Ron tried to grab her, but her hands and legs were flailing about.

Draco pointed his wand at the back of Ron's head. "You heard her, Weasel. Get away from her."

He ignored Draco. "Be reasonable, Mione. I'm not here to hurt you. I love you." Ron begged.

"Take your love and shove it." She hadn't talked to Ron since she had been back. She was hoping to at least see him since she came back, but he had been avoiding her. He chose Lavender over her when he found out she was pregnant those many years ago. Now all of a sudden he wanted back into her life. She found that quite curious.

"You certainly didn't love me a few years ago, when you were playing hide the salami with Lavender, so I certainly don't need your love now. I've done quite well without a piss poor excuse for a friend." She glared at him with a hatred he never saw before. "Now, if you will excuse me, get the fuck out of my room." She was still crouched on the floor.

Draco was taking this all in with amusement. "What part of 'get the fuck out' don't you understand, Weasel?"

Ron glared at Draco, turned around and started to leave the room. "This isn't over, Hermione. I'll come back when you're more rational. You're not well enough to discuss this now."

"Sod off, Ronald. We have nothing more to discuss." She reached up to grab Draco's hand to pull her up. She was still weak, so he had to steady her by putting his arm around her waist.

Ron was furious to see her being helped by his worst enemy. He should be the one she turns to, not Malfoy. He left the room in disgust.

* * *

"Thanks, Malfoy. I didn't think he would ever leave. What did I ever see in that prat?"

"Hard telling. Do you want me to put you back in bed?"

"Only if you'll join me." She winked at him playfully.

The expression on his face was priceless. She lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. I do need to take a piss in the worst way though. Can you help me to the toilet?"

He silently picked up her weightless body and carried her to the loo.

Healer Jenkins entered the room and said, "Well, how's our patient doing?"

"She seems to be doing fine. A little weak maybe. And her behavior is a little off."

"Ah yes, I guess I should have warned you," the healer said. "That commonly happens to people with brain injuries that come out of a coma. Traumatic Brain Injury can cause a lot of unusual behavioral and emotional problems. You might find her highly sensitive to certain situations, depressed, manic at times and may display inappropriate sexual activity. She probably will have problems censoring her language – she'll say exactly what's on her mind. But don't worry, all of this is probably temporary and she's not likely to remember much of it. "

"Great," Draco muttered, "Just what I need – a vulgar, horny schizophrenic to look after."

"Hey, Malfoy," Hermione yelled through the door. "Hand me a tooth brush and some toothpaste, will ya? It feels like a dog shit in my mouth."

The healer chuckled, "I rest my case."

* * *

Blaise came in the room. "Caroline is looking at the fish in the aquarium with Padma. So what's going on? Is she out of the coma?" He looked over to the empty bed.

"Yes, the monster has come alive." Draco rolled his eyes toward the bathroom door.

Hermione opened the door and said, "Fresh as a daisy."

She looked over at Blaise. Her eyes traveled up and down his body. "This is what **I'm **talking about," she purred. She ran her hand up and down his robes and grabbed his crotch. "Sex on a stick." Usually not at a loss for words, Blaise was too shocked to say anything. She reached up with her free hand and grabbed him around the back of his neck and pulled him toward her.

A stunned Blaise looked over at Draco and yelped, "Help me," right before Hermione gave him a bruising kiss.

Draco pulled her off Blaise. "Down girl, down."

She looked back at him. "What? Jealous? I'm sorry for leaving you out. How about a threesome?" She stroked both Draco's and Blaise's faces.

"But to be honest with you, I prefer blonds. Sorry Blaise." She tugged at the top of Draco's trousers and started undoing his belt. "Are you a natural blond, Malfoy?" She smirked.

"For fuck's sake, Granger, knock it off." He dragged her back to her bed.

Blaise cleared his throat. "I…um…I think I need to check on Caroline." He turned on his heel and left with his robes billowing behind him.

"Caroline! My baby! I want to see her."

"Caroline is not coming anywhere near you when you're acting like this."

* * *

Draco finally got her settled back into her bed. She took a good look around and just then noticed her surroundings. "What am I doing in St. Mungo's?

"Well, it all started that day you had lunch with Potter…" He told her about the accident (which she didn't remember anything about) and her being taken to a Muggle hospital. He was gauging her reaction to the part about her mother and her problem with taking Hermione to St. Mungo's . She didn't see surprised to hear that Carol acted like such a bitch. She was secretly glad to be in a place where her mother couldn't influence her.

"We need to talk, Granger. It's about Caroline." He sat down on the bed next to her legs. There was no humor in his face.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "This isn't about that bullshit you were telling **MY** daughter about your being her father is it?"

"What? How did you…?" He looked at her like she had two heads.

"I heard everything."

"You what?"

"Let me break it down for you, Malfoy." She pointed to her eye - "I" – then she tugged on her ear - "heard" – she motioned her arms in a big circle - "everything."

"I didn't think it was possible for you to hear anything while you in a coma."

"Well, I did. Most everything, mind you. I heard you and Caroline talk. And you're more mental than I am at the moment if you think that you're actually her father. How dare you fill her head with lies."

"Just listen to me for a minute." He proceeded to tell her about Harry finding Lucius' memory and what happened when he looked into the pensieve. He was careful not to leave anything out. She deserved the whole truth.

Hermione looked at him in disbelief. There were tears in her eyes and she tried to cover them with her shaking hands.

"No, no, no. You're lying. You're just trying to take Caroline away from me. That's pretty sick, even coming from you, Malfoy.

"Look at me." He grabbed her hands away from her face. His gray eyes bore into her chocolate ones. She could see the pain and the truth in them. "You've got to believe me…and forgive me for what I did to you." He lowered his head.

* * *

Caroline burst into the room. "Mummy! Mummy! Mummy! You're awake." She practically flew on to Hermione's bed and into her arms. She quickly wiped away her tears and held on to her daughter for dear life.

Blaise came in right behind Caroline. "Sorry, I couldn't stop her. She wanted to see her mum."

Hermione threw her head back and laughed as Caroline peppered her face with little kisses. Draco smiled and stood to leave. "Blaise and I will be right outside." He bent over to whisper in Hermione's ear, "This discussion isn't over." He and Blaise left the room.

She turned her focus back on to Caroline. "Have you been a good girl? You look so pretty today."

"Oh, yes. I've been a real good girl. Well, except the time I colored in Daddy's…"

Hermione's brow furrowed. "Daddy?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear? Draco's my daddy but he said you didn't know yet." She grinned and hugged Hermione again.

"Well, I think he gave you some incorrect information. Until we get it straightened out, you should call him 'Draco'."

Caroline's face fell. Hermione felt guilty for disappointing her daughter like that. She knew that Caroline had always dreamed of having a father. "But Daddy-Draco said…"

"What have I told you about believing everything Draco says?"

"But I got white hair and he's got white hair too. I thought it was because we both drank a lot of milk. But I found out that Draco doesn't even like milk," Caroline reasoned.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shifted Caroline more comfortably on her lap. "Let's talk about this later. Tell me what you've been doing."

"Well, like I said, I've been a good girl except the time I colored in Da…Draco's magazine with naked ladies in it. But don't worry; I drew some really nice clothes on them. I showed Draco and Blaise a picture of a lady that had boobs just like yours, and Blaise said you have a nice rack."

Caroline was on a roll. Once she started talking, she couldn't quit. Hermione just looked at her slack-jawed and tried to keep up.

"Did you know that Draco has a house elf? But I'm not allowed to be friends with her," she said sadly. "It's some sort of rule.

"Oh, and we've been watching lots of movies. But not the porn ones. Those are Draco's favorite, but he gave them all to Blaise. They wouldn't let me watch one.

"Did you know that Blaise keeps his family jewels in his pants? But Draco gave me my own jewels. See the bracelet he got me?" She twisted her wrist back and forth in from of Hermione. She looked at the bracelet carefully and could tell it was enchanted somehow. She would have to find out more about it later.

As Caroline was rambling on about her time with Draco, Hermione's breathing became more labored. Her face was turning red and her head was hurting.

"Oh, and Mummy, let me show you my notebook. There's one page for Draco and one page for Blaise. Each time they say a curse word, I make a mark in my notebook. At the end of the week, I count the number of marks and they give me money for each one. This way is easier than paying me each time they curse." She pulled out a little notebook from her purse to show her mother. "I'm going to be rich!"

"I see where Malfoy has a lot of marks and it's only Tuesday," Hermione observed.

"That's because he cut himself shaving and got blood on his shirt. Then he tripped over one of my dolls that was laying on the floor. Then that flower lady skank came by and yelled at him. He was having a real bad day."

"Flower lady skank?"

"Yeah, her name is a flower. I can remember what. She's a real bad lady. I don't like her at all. When Draco wasn't looking, I gave her the finger."

"You gave her the what?" Hermione's voice was getting a little higher and a little louder.

"You know, the one-finger salute." She demonstrated. "Blaise showed me how, but I'm not supposed to do it or Draco will make my finger disappear."

"MALFOY! YOU GET YOUR SORRY ARSE IN HERE YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH." She screamed.

"Oh, Mummy. I guess I'll have to start a page in my notebook for you too."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: My thanks to you for all your reviews and comments. I appreciate your sticking with the story so far.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 13

Hermione lay in her hospital bed with her arms restricted by leather restraints. She was drowsy from the calming draught the healer gave her. All she could remember was a rage that boiled inside her. Then nothing.

"Knock, knock." Harry entered the room cautiously with Ginny following close behind. Hermione lifted her head a little.

"Harry. Ginny," she called weakly. Tears pricked in her eyes with relief that it was friends visiting her and not another healer or Malfoy for that matter.

"What have I done? Why are my arms restrained? Those bastards won't tell me anything. They just come in here giving me more potions and prodding around." Ginny tapped her wand at Hermione's restraints so her wrists would be free.

Harry took the seat closest to the bed. "From what we've been told, you kind of went ballistic on Malfoy. After the stories Caroline told you about what's been going on, you hit him several times pretty hard in the head with a vase. The first hit knocked him out cold. You've got blood all over your clothes, so it was pretty nasty. They're treating him in one of the rooms down the hall."

Hermione looked down at the offensive stain on her hospital gown. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Caroline! Where's Caroline?"

Ginny gently pushed strands of Hermione's hair away from her face. "Caroline is fine. I guess when she saw you attack Malfoy she bolted out of here. She ran to the children's ward where Luna works. She calmed her down. She was pretty upset, saying that it was all her fault."

Tears streamed down Hermione's face. "What have I done? My own daughter is afraid of me. I attacked Malfoy and I don't remember anything. I'm going crazy, aren't I?"

"You know that's not true." Harry took her hand. "The healer said this behavior is common with someone with head injuries. He said you can't be held responsible for what you do. It will pass, Mione."

"Yes, but I tried to kill Malfoy. That's a little overreacting, don't you think? One moment I'm happy, the next I'm crying my eyes out. I'm so confused. I'm not even going to tell you what I did to Blaise and Malfoy earlier. "

"Yeah, we heard," Harry laughed. "Hermione Granger in a threesome? Oh, to be a fly on the wall."

Hermione put her hands over her face. "That's so embarrassing. And I can't believe I grabbed Blaise's crotch."

"There was probably not much to grab," sniggered Harry.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Actually, there was a lot to grab."

Harry continued to laugh as Ginny shot him nasty looks. Trying to change the subject, Ginny handed her a gift bag with soft blue pajamas in it. "I thought you'd like to put something on that didn't have your arse sticking out." The top of the pajamas was a close fitting tank top and the bottoms had a draw-string waist.

"Gods, you are an angel, Gin." Hermione took off her hospital gown without regard to present company. Uncomfortable, Harry turned his back so that she could get dressed; his face was just a little red. "Ahh, this is so much better. I feel half-way human now. Thanks guys."

A few seconds of silence went by. "I want to see it," said Hermione.

"What are you talking about?" said Harry. He and Ginny looked at her confused.

"The memory. Lucius Malfoy's memory about…that night. Malfoy told me about it, but I find it hard to believe him."

"Hermione, what Malfoy told you is true. Lucius imperiused his son and forced him to…attack you. Both of your memories were wiped clean. I saw the memory with my own eyes. He wasn't lying."

"Harry, you know me. I have to see it for myself."

"I don't think that's such a good idea in your current state. Malfoy wanted me to destroy the memory so you wouldn't be able to see it. He wanted to spare you from going through that experience again. But against my better judgment, I kept it anyway, knowing you'd want to see it one day."

"Damn straight I want to see it. The sooner, the better. How fast can you get a pensieve in here?"

* * *

The right side of Draco's forehead was heavily bandaged. It felt like hippogriffs were flying around in his head. He was shocked that Hermione would physically attack him like that. He expected her to throw verbal assaults, but she surprised him when she blindsided him with the heavy vase.

He left the room he was being treated in and went searching for Caroline. He thought she must have been scared shitless. He found her in the playroom in the children's ward. Luna was rocking her to sleep in a big wooden rocking chair. Caroline had her thumb in her mouth. She only did that when she was really upset or stressed.

Luna got up and handed Caroline to him. "Caroline is such a doll. She was really upset, but I think she'll be okay. I've got to check on some other patients."

Draco nodded to her. Caroline stirred and woke up. She looked up at Draco's bandaged head and started crying. "I'm so sorry, Draco."

"Oh, so now it's back to 'Draco', is it?" He was a little more than disappointed.

"Mummy said you were lying and that I'm not allowed to call you 'Daddy'."

He sat back down with her in the rocking chair. "Well, your mum is a little confused at the moment. But I'm sure she'll believe the truth soon." He tried to brush the tears from her face.

"Hey, I tell you what. Why don't we go shopping for those new robes you've been wanting?"

Just like an off switch, Caroline's sadness disappeared. She jumped off Draco's lap and started skipping around the room. "Yay, I'm going to get my own robes!"

Well, that was easy, he thought. He'll have to remember that the way to a witch's heart is through his credit card.

Blaise popped his head into the playroom. "There you two are. I've been looking all over for you." He looked over and saw Luna. He hadn't seen her since Hogwarts. She looked damn good. Blaise definitely preferred blonds.

"Draco is taking me shopping for my own robes!" said Caroline. "Do you want to come with us?"

Still staring at Luna, Blaise mentally shook himself. "Sure, why not? There are a few things I need to pick up." He reached down for her hand, and they all apparated to Diagon Alley.

* * *

"Wow, this is so wicked." Caroline looked around Diagon Alley awestruck. She jumped up and down hardly able to contain her glee. "I want to go there, there, there…" She pointed to several shops including Eeylops Owl Emporium, Flourish & Blotts, and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Settle down. First off, we need to go to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." Draco grabbed her hand and led the way. They rounded the corner and ran into none other than Narcissa Malfoy.

Draco stopped in his tracks. "Mother. What are you doing here? I thought you were in Paris."

Narcissa had a surprised look on her face as well. "Obviously, I'm back Draco. What happened to your head?" She looked at Draco, and then she looked down at the little girl – who currently had her finger up her nose.

Draco followed his mother's gaze. He gently slapped Caroline's hand away from her face.

"I had an itch," Caroline explained. "I wasn't picking a boogey – I swear."

The corner of Draco's lips twitched. "Boogey or no, it's not ladylike to put your finger up your nose in public."

"Sorry." She hung her head and kicked a small pebble.

"Mother, I'd like you to meet Caroline. I know what you're thinking. I will explain everything later."

Realization dawned on Caroline. She looked up at Narcissa. "You're Draco's mum, right?"

Narcissa looked down at Caroline haughtily. "That is correct."

"Then you must be a bitch." Caroline said it as innocently as if she was talking about the weather.

Both Draco and Blaise slapped their hands over their eyes. Draco was afraid to look at his mother.

"I beg your pardon?" Narcissa drawled.

"Well, Draco is your son… and my mummy calls him a son-of-a-bitch all the time."

Blaise threw his head back in laughter. "Oh, that's rich." He wiped a tear from his eye.

Draco looked back and forth between his mother and his daughter. He was trying to stifle a laugh.

Caroline stood with her hands behind her back and gave Narcissa one of her biggest smiles.

Narcissa just stared at Caroline for a few beats. Slowly the corner of her mouth lifted into a half smile. Her eyes met Draco's in amusement.

"Lovely child. Bring her with you to the manor tonight. I'm throwing a little dinner party for my return." She then looked over at Blaise and sized him up. "Bring the Italian Stallion with you, too."

* * *

"Wow, Narcissa is smokin' hot. Widowhood really suits her." Blaise and Draco were sitting in overstuffed chairs in Madam Malkin's fitting room.

"That's my mother you're talking about, moron."

"I'm just saying. You know how I can't resist blondes." Blaise wiggled his eyebrows.

"Well, that particular blonde is off limits." He smirked. He knew there had been a chemistry between his mother and his best friend for a long time. Even when they were in their fourth year, he would find Blaise flirting with her when they visited the manor.

"How is it my fault that she can't resist my charms?" Blaise teased. "Now that Lucius is out of the picture, things are looking up."

"Just the thought of you boinking my mother is enough for me to lose my lunch. Ewww." Draco shook himself.

Caroline was standing on the little platform in front of three mirrors. She was watching herself do a little dance while waiting for Madam Malkin to come back with fabric samples to for them to look at. She was posing like a model, which amused the two wizards to no end.

The older witch returned with several fabrics slung over her arm. Subtle shades of purple, pink, blue and yellow swatches were laid out. Immediately Caroline was attracted to the pink fabric. "Oh, these are all pretty, but I like the pink one."

"We'll take robes in all the colors," Draco said. No child of his was going to wear the same robes all the time. "Also throw green in there."

"Yuck, I hate green," Caroline stuck her tongue out in distaste.

"Trust me, you're going to grow to love green, especially when you go to Hogwarts and get sorted into the Sytherin house."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Humph, we'll see about that."

Madam Malkin took Caroline's measurements and retreated to the back of the store. A few minutes later a sales clerk came out of the back room pushing a large mirror on wheels. "We just got this in yesterday. It's a mirror enchanted to see what you will look like in the future."

Blaise, Draco and Caroline gathered around the mirror to get a closer look. "How does it work?" asked Caroline.

"All you do is turn this little dial to how ever many years you want to see yourself in the future. Do you want to give it a try?" She smiled down at Caroline.

"Yes, yes, yes," Caroline squealed excitedly.

"How many years to you want me to dial up to? Maybe 15 years to see what you'd look like all grown up?"

"Okay." Caroline hopped up and down waiting for the clerk to turn the dial.

In a matter of moments, the image on the mirror distorted and then came back into focus. Staring back at her was a 19-year-old Caroline.

"Wow, look at me!" Draco and Blaise were looking all right. Their mouths gapped open in astonishment. Looking back at them was a blonde bombshell.

The Caroline in the mirror had long blond ringlets falling down her back. The features on her heart-shaped face were perfect. Looking their way down, their eyes stopped at a rather well endowed bust. Well, Blaise's eyes stopped. Draco had to elbow him in the ribs to break his trance. She had curves in all the right places, and her legs seemed like they would never end. She was still petite, but what a package.

Blaise bit his knuckle and whimpered to Draco. "Life is so unfair."

"Don't even go there, Blaise."

"Look, I got bigger boobs than Mummy." She put her two hands over her breasts and jiggled them them up and down. At least the breasts in the mirrored jiggled.

"Knock it off, Caroline. You're giving Blaise here a heart attack." And something else, Draco thought.

Several other wizards stopped their shopping and came over to watch.

Caroline giggled and started dancing. She swayed her hips and ran her hands through her long locks. She turned around and raised her skirt. The Caroline in the mirror was wearing a thong. "Look, I got funny knickers on. It goes up my crack." She was laughing hysterically.

"Oh, holy fucking Merlin, help me," groaned Blaise as he fell backward into the chair.

"Caroline, that's not funny. Put your skirt down," Draco demanded.

"You know, I could be one of those ladies in one of your nudie magazines."

"Over my stone-cold dead body."

Blaise smirked. "I'd buy a copy."

A couple of other men nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, me too." "Most definitely."

Draco grabbed Caroline's arm and dragged her off the platform. "Let's go before you start a riot."

The young Caroline blew a kiss to the Caroline in the mirror. "See in you in 15 years."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I'm glad you are enjoying Caroline's character. She's really fun to write. I have more plans for the mirror in the future. So you might see it again. Maybe. Thanks, once again, for continuing to read the story.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and few others in this chapter) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 14

"Are you sure about this? Maybe Malfoy was right. Maybe I should have destroyed the vial with Lucius' memories." Harry ran his hand through his hair and looked at Hermione uncertainly.

"You're doing the right thing, Harry. I need to know what really happened – just for my own peace of mind," said Hermione.

"I don't know…"

"Quit being a pussy, Harry, and just give me the fucking vial." She grabbed the vial from Harry's hand and poured its contents into the pensieve.

* * *

Draco knocked softly on his mother's door. He slowly entered the room after she acknowledged him. She was relaxing in her favorite chair sipping tea. Now, he wondered, where to begin.

He told her the whole story about Lucius, Hermione, the Imperius Curse and all. Narcissa just closed her eyes and took a deep breath soaking in all the information.

Her late husband was a bastard to be sure. She was furious that he did that to their son and that poor Granger girl. She didn't share her husband's views on blood status to the extent he did. Lucius should be thankful he wasn't alive today, because if he were, he would wish death rather than face the wrath of Narcissa Malfoy. If she could only bring him back to life just so she could kill him again. She smiled at that.

Narcissa opened her eyes and looked at her son. She had to admit that Caroline was a surprise – a pleasant one.

"So what are your plans now, Draco?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since the renovations are almost done here, I think you should move back into the manor."

"I'm perfectly fine living in my flat, Mother."

"But what about Caroline? Surely taking care of her in that small space isn't the most ideal situation."

"Mother, my flat is bigger than their whole house. Caroline is happy where she is," Draco argued.

"I'm just suggesting that when Hermione is well enough to leave the hospital, she'll need a place where she can be cared for. We have enough staff…"

"Are you saying that she should move in here with you?"

"No, I'm suggesting that she move in here with **US**. We have more than enough room. She and Caroline can have their own wing if they so choose. And you'll be close by in your suite."

"Granger will never go for that. You know how she must feel about this place. Just drop it, Mother."

Narcissa smirked at him. She knew exactly how she was going to get what she wanted. As if on cue, Caroline ran through the door and into her father's arms.

"Daddy, you should see this place. It's ginormous." Pixie (Trixie's sister) showed the little girl around some of the manor. They had been gone an hour and only saw a small portion of the huge estate.

"I know Cupcake, I used to live here."

Caroline looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you rich or something?"

"Or something." Draco smiled. Narcissa's heart warmed to see her son smiling again. It was something she missed from his childhood.

Narcissa looked softly at Caroline. "How would you like to live here too?"

"Mother…" Draco warned.

"That would be wicked cool. But what about Mummy? And Daddy?"

"Well, they'd live here too. We'd be one big happy family." She smiled. Draco could see the manipulation gears turning in his mother's head.

That was the clincher for Caroline. Narcissa could tell in her eyes that having a family was important to her granddaughter, and she used that to her advantage.

"So that way Mummy and Daddy can get married," Caroline reasoned happily.

"Now wait just a minute here," said Draco. "Just get that thought right out of your curly little head."

"But, but if we live in the same house, you gotta get married. It's the law or something."

"No, it's not the law. And no, we're not getting married. Now see what you did, Mother? You're putting ideas into her head."

Caroline pouted. "Don't fret, little one. We Malfoy women always get what we want." Narcissa winked. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Draco.

Draco slapped his hands over his face and growled in frustration. There was no reasoning with that woman.

* * *

Caroline was a breath of fresh air in the ancestral manor. Not since Draco was a child had there been such noise, mostly laughter. Some of the things the little one said and shocked her, but she found them endearing.

Caroline jumped off Draco's lap and stood in front of Narcissa. "What am I supposed to call you anyway? Granny? Grandma?"

Narcissa shuttered at the thought of being called 'Granny'. She really wasn't the 'Grandma' type either. "How about 'Nana'?"

Caroline nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me, Nana Banana." She giggled and raised her arms up to Narcissa so she could be hugged.

The older woman laughed. "I think just 'Nana' will be sufficient."

* * *

Narcissa helped Caroline get dressed for the dinner party. She always dreamed of having a little girl to dress up and fix her hair. She was going to have a hard time trying not to spoil Caroline.

When Narcissa was done with Caroline, she looked like a living doll instead of a child. Her dusty pink robes were immaculate. Narcissa fixed her hair so that her head looked like it was capped in little ringlets. She even put a little lip gloss and a little blush on her. She painted her fingernails pink, much to the joy of the little witch. This was her first real adult party, and she was excited.

Blaise and Draco were downstairs sipping firewhiskey and waiting for the other guests to arrive. They both looked at Narcissa and Caroline descend the stairs.

"Wow, look at you two gorgeous women," said Blaise. He walked over to the two beauties and kissed Narcissa on the cheek. He leaned down to do the same to Caroline.

"Don't. You're going to ruin my make-up," scolded Caroline.

Blaise laughed at raised his palms up in surrender. "Far be it from me to mess with a woman's make-up."

Draco muttered to himself, "All she needs now is a tiara." He rolled his eyes and took another large gulp of the firewhiskey. His head was killing him.

* * *

Narcissa and her guests were finally seated at the table. There was Draco, Blaise, and Caroline. Narcissa and her sister, Andromeda, mended their relationship, so she and her grandson, Teddy, were invited. Caroline and Teddy were seated next to each other. He was a little older than Caroline but they took to each other like ducks to water. He was entertaining her with his ever-changing hair like his mother's. Tonks and Remus had another commitment and couldn't come.

Much to the Draco's disgust, Narcissa also invited her good friend, Pricilla Parkinson, and her daughter, Pansy. Mr. Parkinson was in Las Vegas scouting out a new mega hotel and casino that just opened.

There were three other people present that Draco had heard his mother talk about, but until now had never met them. Celeste and Celine were two young witches a little older than Draco. They were identical twins and a little on the chubby side with dark brown, almost black hair. Narcissa met them in Paris and they became fast friends. Eric was a tall blond that kept playing footsie with Narcissa under the table. Draco could only guess where his mother picked **that** one up.

The injury on Draco's head was throbbing. Nothing he did would relieve the pain. "Your head is hurting you." Narcissa looked at him with concern. "I want you to go back to St. Mungo's right now and have it looked at."

He was in too much pain to argue. "I think I will. If you will excuse me…" he said to the other guests before he left.

* * *

The healer gave Draco a stronger potion than what he had been taking. His bandage on his forehead was also changed.

Draco thanked the healer and walked out into the hallway. Ginny came barreling down the corridor and she looked pissed.

"Whoa, Red, where's the fire?"

"Hermione is in her room with Harry. He kept the memory and has a pensieve in there now so she can see it."

"WHAT? I told him to destroy the memory. You're joking, right?"

"No I'm not fucking joking. I tried telling Harry that it was too soon, that she couldn't handle something like that in her mental condition."

"I'm going to kill that motherfucker." Draco quickly walked down to Hermione's room.

He pushed the door open so violently, that it about came off its hinges. "You sodding moron. I told you to get rid of it."

"Calm down, Malfoy. First, I don't take orders from you. And second, do you honestly believe Hermione would trust you to tell her the truth? I knew she would need to see it for herself."

"And she's in there alone?"

Harry just nodded.

"That's the worst thing you could have done. She shouldn't be in there by herself." Draco walked toward the pensieve. "I want you out of here by the time we get back, Potter." He leaned over the pensieve and fell into the memory.

* * *

Different conversations were taking place around the table. Blaise and Eric were in a heated political discussion.

"That's a bunch of bull squeeze," said Blaise to something Eric said. All eyes turned to them.

"What's bull squeeze?" asked Teddy.

"It means bullshit," said Caroline. Now all eyes turned to her with mouths gaping.

"Then why didn't he just say bullshit?" asked a confused Teddy.

"'Cuz it's not polite to say bullshit at the table," Caroline explained.

"Enough children!" Narcissa scolded. "There will be no more talk of bull squeeze or bull whatever." Teddy and Caroline looked at each other and giggled.

They changed the subject matter to the mirror at Madam Malkin's. Caroline went into great detail about the mirror and how it made her look. Blaise tried to steer her away from explaining how he reacted to the image in the mirror. But it didn't work.

"Daddy said Blaise was just acting like that because he hasn't gotten laid in a while." Caroline continued eating then realized all eyes were on her once again. "What? That's what he said, I swear."

Unabashed, Blaise said with a wicked grin, "Any volunteers?" He winked at Narcissa.

Caroline raised her hand. "Pick me, pick me." She leaned over to Narcissa and asked, "What's getting laid mean anyway?"

Narcissa gave a disapproving look at Blaise. "I'll explain it to you when you're 30."

"I might be able to help you, Blaise," purred Pansy. Blaise had disgusted look on his face.

Caroline scowled at Pansy and said, "Blaise only likes ladies with blond hair and big boobs. And you don't got either."

The other guests at the table roared with laughter - even Narcissa. Pansy threw her napkin down and got up from her chair. "Thank you, Narcissa, It's been lovely…but I have to scream now." All of a sudden there was a 'pop' and Pansy was gone.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I think my funny bone took a vacation. Sorry about that, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Some of you have mentioned that Caroline reminds you of you when you were little, or a niece or sister. If you would like to see Caroline doing anything you or they used to do, drop me a line. It just might make it into the story.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 15

After falling into the pensieve, Draco found himself back in _that_ room in the dungeons. How he hated that room which now no longer exists since the renovations in that part of the manor had been completed.

He noticed the memory was near the end. The Draco in the memory was already gone. Hermione was curled in a ball on the bed as Lucius stripped away her memories.

The real Hermione was also curled up in a ball on the dirt floor. She was shaking softly.

Draco kneeled down and gently moved her hair away from her face. He wasn't sure if he should touch her or not. He was thankful she didn't have a wand at the moment. A pissed off Hermione with a wand is a dangerous thing indeed.

She looked up at him with her tear-filled eyes and cried quietly. She now understood, and reality was hitting her hard.

Draco couldn't stand not touching her, so he scooped her up in his arms. She lazily put her arms around his neck and leaned into his chest. He tried to soothe her by gently stroking her back, slightly rocking back and forth. His other hand held her head close to his chest. He wanted his embrace to take away all her pain.

Draco was still holding Hermione as they left the pensieve. He sat down on her hospital bed with her in his lap. Lowering his head, he gently kissed the salty tears on her face. His kisses made their way down to her lips. He hesitated when she lifted her head. Her pained eyes locked on his soft gray ones. "Please forgive me," he said.

She slowly shook her head. "There's nothing to forgive," she said barely above a whisper. "You're going to find this hard to believe, but I'm actually somewhat relieved that it was you instead of Lucius." She made a sound that was part sob and part laugh.

She was right. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

All the animosity from their past was stripped away. Draco ran his hand through her hair and grabbed a fistful of her curly locks. His lips brushed against hers. He wanted to taste her, to devour her. He really didn't know how she would respond. Would he hit him? Push him away? But she surprised him by kissing him back passionately.

He was her lifeline, and she wasn't letting go. They shared a horrible experience that no one else could relate to. They kissed as if everything that had been bottled up for so long was finally released. She grabbed the back of his head and wove her fingers through his soft hair while their lips and tongues battled on.

After a few moments, they broke away for air. She smiled up at him. "You know this doesn't change anything. I still hate you."

Draco kissed her swollen lips as he smiled back at her. "I hate you too, Granger," he said as he gave her small kisses. "I'm glad we can agree on something." With that, he kissed her so hard it made her toes curl.

After a few moments they broke away again. "I know another thing we can agree on," she said brushing a stray clump of hair from his eyes.

He continued to kiss up and down her jaw. "And that would be…?"

The way he was making her feel, she almost lost all her concentration. "Caroline is _our_ daughter."

Draco carefully lifted her off his lap and laid her down on the bed. He took his wand out and cast a small spell to make the hospital bed wider. He lay down on his side next to her. "Ah, Caroline. What a gem." He smiled just thinking about her. "Smart and beautiful, just like her mother."

"Cunning and manipulative, just like her father." Hermione smirked.

"Just like a Malfoy," he corrected proudly.

He leaned over and kissed her passionately again. "This feels so wrong, yet so right," he said.

"You're damn right it's wrong." Standing in the doorway was Lavender Brown. "Ron left me to go back to you, and now you're cheating on him with Draco Malfoy? You're such a whore."

Hermione looked up at her bewildered. "And who are you?"

"That's Lavender Brown," Draco whispered loudly. "Don't you remember her? She was in your house."

"Oh, yes. Of course. Sorry, I didn't recognize you with your clothes on and your legs together."

Draco snickered. He was enjoying this new snarky side of Hermione. Lavender stood there with her mouth hung open.

"And by the way, Ron and I are NOT getting back together. So you can have him and his little dick too."

Stunned, Lavender turned and was about to leave the room. She turned her head back to Hermione. "I guess all the rumors are true. You are a crazy bitch."

* * *

Dinner was over at Malfoy Manor and the adults were talking and enjoying their after dinner drinks. Caroline and Teddy were sitting on the floor playing a wizard's version of Old Maid. Since Caroline was not familiar with magical games, Teddy showed her how it was played.

They soon got bored of the game so they decided to explore a little. In the hallway the guests' cloaks hung on the wall.

"I wonder if there is any candy in the pockets. My Grandma Granger always has candy in her coat pockets."

Teddy shrugged. "There's only one way to find out. You start on that end and I'll start on this end." They proceeded to rummage through the cloaks in search of candy.

Caroline found a tube of lipstick, a comb, some coins and an empty boxy of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Teddy found random things too. As they found various items, instead of putting them back, they chucked them over their shoulders.

"Well, I've come up with nothing. How about you?" asked Caroline.

"Not much, just one piece. We better put these things back before the grown-ups catch us." They quickly grabbed the items and stuffed them into random pockets. The guests were going to be surprised to find items that didn't belong to them in their pockets.

Teddy took the piece of candy he found and studied it carefully. It wasn't any candy he had seen before. It was in a square foil packet. He tried to open it with no success.

"Here, let me try." Caroline grabbed it from him and put it between her teeth to rip it open. She had seen Draco do that once with a bag of pretzels.

After tugging and tugging the packet finally came open. She pulled out its contents. It was not candy, but a condom.

"It's not candy," she said disappointed. "It's just a dumb old balloon."

"I've never seen that kind of balloon before. "Teddy grabbed it from her and put the opening to his lips. He tried to blow it up to no avail. "It doesn't work anyway."

"THEODORE! What do you have in your hands?" shrieked Andromeda. The other adults gathered around to see what she was yelling about. She grabbed the condom out of his hand with a big snap since Teddy was still holding on to it.

"It's just an old stupid balloon we found," explained Teddy. He and Caroline could not understand what the fuss was all about and left the scene in search of ice cream in the kitchen.

Everyone turned and looked at Blaise. He raised his palms up. "Don't look at me. It's not mine."

Then everyone turned to Eric. He turned a bright shade of pink. "What? Muggle women don't understand contraceptive charms."

In a low whisper Blaise asked, "You fuck Muggles?"

"Pussy is pussy, right?" Eric winked. "You ought to try it sometime."

* * *

Caroline remembered where the kitchen was because Pixie took her on a tour of the manor earlier. Pixie was there and gave them each a big bowl of ice cream. Both of them devoured the ice cream and had a mess on their faces.

Out of the blue Caroline asked, "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"'Cuz we'd have to have sex. That's what boyfriends do. Duh!"

Not knowing what sex really was, Caroline said, "That's okay with me."

"You don't even know what sex is, do you? I see my parents do it all the time."

"Well then, smarty britches, why don't you show me?" Caroline challenged him.

Teddy hopped off his chair and went around to Caroline's side of the table. He got up close to her and gave her a quick chaste kiss on the lips.

She looked confused and shook her curly head back and forth. "That isn't sex. That was just a kiss."

Teddy folded his arms across his chest. "It's sex if you use your tongue. I just didn't want to really do it because it will make you have a baby."

"Oh, okay," Caroline shrugged. "So you want to be my best friend? Then we don't have to have sex."

"Okay with me," Teddy answered as he opened random cupboards looking for cookies.

* * *

Narcissa took Caroline to her new suite, complete with all her toys that Trixie and Pixie brought over from Draco's flat. Everything was, of course, pink and Caroline loved it. Still a little hyper from the ice cream, she ran and jumped on the canopied bed like it was a trampoline. She was a little out of control and Narcissa didn't know what do to. She looked over at Blaise with a 'help me' look.

Blaise caught her around the waist in mid-air. "Come on, Darlin', time to settle down and take your bath." He carried her over his shoulder to her bathroom. It was bigger than her whole bedroom at home.

"Wow, look how big this is!" Her eyes were taking in the room. Blaise drew her bath and was getting ready to leave when Caroline complained, "I can't get out of these robes." She was tugging and pulling at her clothes. "And I can't get these pins out of my hair. Help me, Blaise" she whined.

Blaise looked over at Narcissa. "I think this is more your territory."

Narcissa helped Caroline out of her robes and took down her hair. Caroline got in the tub and was happily playing with her new bath toys. Narcissa left the bathroom and found Blaise waiting for her by the fireplace.

"I can't believe how much energy that little one has." She walked over to Blaise and ran a fingernail down his cheek. "Now what was it you said earlier about needing a volunteer?"

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. He gave her a wolfish grin and lowered his mouth to hers. Just as they were about to kiss…

"NANAAAAAAAAAA!"

Blaise sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Let me check on Caroline and I'll be right back," promised Narcissa.

She walked into the bathroom and saw an empty bath tub. Her heart stopped as she saw Caroline's lifeless body at the bottom of the tub. She screamed, and Blaise came running in.

All of a sudden Caroline sat up and roared with laughter. Ha ha, I fooled you. You thought I drownded." She continued to laugh hysterically.

Narcissa jumped back and held her hand over her heart. It was beating a million times faster.

Blaise leaned up against the door and chuckled. "I see you've been initiated by Caroline. She did that to Draco when he gave her a bath the first time."

Narcissa's breathing slowed. "Young lady, if you _ever_ do something like that again…" Her face turned red with anger.

"Chill out, Cissa. She's just messing with you."

"Yeah, Nana. I'm just messing with you." Caroline gave her the Malfoy smirk.

Narcissa's eyes widened. "You wipe that smirk off your face, Caroline, or I'll wipe it off for you." She hated it when Draco did that to her when he was younger.

He turned her around and pushed her out the bathroom. "Go and get a drink and calm down. I'll take care of the little monster."

* * *

Finally, Caroline got out of the tub and put her pajamas on. She padded out of the bathroom and went to her bed where Blaise was waiting for her laying on top of the bed reading one of her books. She scrambled up on the bed and lay next to him on her stomach. She propped her head up with her hands cupping her chin.

"Blaise?"

"Hmmm?" He was still leafing through one of her books. He had his reading glasses on. Not very many people knew he wore glasses to read. But he needed them to read all the small print on the legal documents he handled every day.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Nope, not a bit," Blaise teased. He saw her pout. "Just kidding. I think you're very pretty."

"If I looked like I did in the mirror, would you want to be my boyfriend?"

"I told you before, Caroline, I'd make a terrible boyfriend."

"Why? Don't you like to have sex?"

Blaise lowered the book and looked over at her. "What?" He slid his glasses to the top of his head.

"Teddy said that if he was my boyfriend, we'd have to have sex."

"Oh really? And why is that?" Was he actually having a conversation with a little girl about sex?

"'Cuz that's what boyfriends do. Duh!"

Blaise put his hands behind his head. "And do you know what sex is exactly?"

"Sure. Teddy said it was like kissing, only you use your tongue." She stuck out her tongue for emphasis.

"Ah. Well Teddy is feeding you a load of bullshit."

"You mean bull squeeze," she giggled. "So what is sex then?"

"I'll explain it to you when you're 30." He grinned at her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"You know, Blaise, I'm going to be really smart when I'm 30 'cuz that's when everyone is going to explain stuff to me."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry about the confusion with Lavender in the last chapter. She was there to confront Hermione. She was certain that Hermione was purposely stealing Ron away from her. But Hermione's sharp tongue caught her off-guard.

Thanks, once again, for your reviews. And thanks to you new readers that found this story and added it to your alerts/favs.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 16

Draco woke up stiff and sore. He looked at his surroundings and remembered where he was. He was lying on his side with Hermione curled next to him. She was sleeping peacefully, a slight smile on her face. He closed his eyes and thought about the night before. Was it a good idea to connect with her like that? Deep down he knew that's what he wanted for a long time – to hold her, to kiss her. Actually he wanted more than that.

He looked at his watch. Mickey's hands showed it was 7:15 a.m. He smiled when he looked at the Mickey Mouse watch because he immediately thought of Caroline. Draco acted angry with Caroline, but now that he looked back, he thought it was amusing. He couldn't stay mad at her long.

* * *

Two days ago…

Draco was looking over some contracts in his study. His shoes were kicked off and his sleeves rolled up. All of a sudden he felt he was being watched. He looked up and saw Caroline in the doorway.

With her head down, she slowly walked across the room and stopped in front of his desk. Her little hand reached up and placed the Mickey Mouse watch in front of him.

"What's this?" asked Draco.

"A watch," answered Caroline, her head still down.

"I can see that. Why are you giving it to me?"

"'Cuz you need one."

He wasn't sure he liked where this was going. "I already have a watch. A very nice, expensive watch."

"Not anymore."

He groaned and put his head in his hands. "I'm afraid to ask this. But what happened?"

She lifted her head. "Well, you see, it really wasn't my fault. You left your watch on the edge of the sink. And in the middle of 'Row, row, row your boat' it accidently fell into the toilet."

He looked at her incredulously. "It 'accidentally' fell into the toilet?"

"Yep. I did my best to get it out. I tried to scoop it up with one of your leather loafers."

"My brand new Italian loafers?"

"Yeah, those _were_ really nice loafers."

He groaned and banged his head against his desk. "Why me?" he muttered.

In a sad little voice she said, "Sorry." She turned around and slowly left the room.

Draco lifted his head and looked at the watch. He never saw Caroline wear it, probably because it was way too big for her little wrist. He sighed, picked it up and put it on his wrist.

Blaise walked in about a half hour later. He threw some parchments on the desk. "Here, you need to sign these." He could tell right away that Draco was in a bad mood.

Draco grumbled and reached over to pull the parchments closer so he could read them first. He picked up his quill and started to sign the documents. He had many other writing instruments, but there was nothing like the feel of writing with a quill and ink.

"What's that on your wrist?"

"A watch." Draco's head was still down as he signed the documents.

"I can see that. And by the looks of it, it's a Mickey Mouse watch."

"Yep."

"Somehow I think Caroline is involved in the reason you're wearing a Mickey Mouse watch."

"Yep."

" And you're not going to tell me why, are you?"

"Nope. Now get the fuck out of here." He tossed the parchments back to Blaise with a scowl.

Blaise grabbed the documents and gave Draco a smirk. As he left the room he sang, "M-I-C-K-E…"He barely got out the door before a bottle of ink crashed next to where his head was.

* * *

Hermione stirred next to him as she started to wake up. He thought she was gorgeous. She wore the light blue tank top that accentuated her curves. Draco ran his hand up her side and lingered on her breast. She woke up when he nibbled at her ear.

She turned over and smiled. "Morning."

"Good morning to you, Miss Granger."

"Last night was…interesting."

"Indeed."

She reached up and stroked his jaw. "So what happens now?"

He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips "I have no clue. Why don't we just play it by ear?"

"That works for me. What time is it anyway?" she said as she grabbed his wrist away from her chest. She snickered when she saw Mickey.

"Don't say a word," he warned. He placed his hand where it was before the interruption.

"Big bad death eater is wearing a Mickey Mouse watch. Alert the media," she laughed.

"I'm not a death eater, never was, never will be. Now shut it about the watch." He leaned in close to her ear and said in a low dark voice. "Or you will be punished."

Hermione felt chills everywhere and shivered. She gave him a wicked grin. "Oh, I can hardly wait." She pulled him closer, if that was possible, and kissed him passionately.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Healer Jenkins was standing in the doorway. "Finally. It took you two long enough. Sorry to interrupt your love fest, but you need to see today's _Daily Prophet_. He tossed the newspaper on the bed and left.

Draco picked it up and growled. Hermione leaned on his shoulder so she could see it too. She gasped. "Oh, no. Tell me this is a joke." On the front page was an article with the headline, **Who is** **The Mysterious Miss Malfoy? **Underneath showed a picture of them in Diagon Alley with Caroline's finger up her nose and Draco batting her hand away.

After skimming the article, Draco said, "I'm going to kill that Skeeter bitch." He angrily threw the paper down. He got up and started pacing the room, his fingers weaving through his hair. Hermione didn't say anything. She just kept staring at the photo and article.

The article was very brief. It mostly questioned the identity of the little blond haired girl. She was a Malfoy to be sure. But who was the father – Lucius or Draco? Who was the mother and where was she? How did the little girl come to be in Draco's care? There were so many questions to be answered, and Rita Skeeter promised her readers that she would get to the bottom of it.

"Where were you when this picture was taken? It looks like Diagon Alley," observed Hermione.

"It is Diagon Alley. We were on our way to buy Caroline's robes."

"You took my child to Diagon Alley? You're buying her robes? You know how I feel about exposing to her the Wizarding world."

"First of all, she's my child too. And second, I bought her robes because a proper witch needs robes. And third, she loves magic. She can't get enough of it and can't wait to get her first wand." He sat back down on the bed.

Hermione folded her arms across her chest and looked the other way. There were tears in her eyes. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him. "You're so stubborn; you can't admit that you miss magic. Tossing your wand away was your mother's doing. Am I right?"

Hermione slowly nodded her head. "My mother hates anything that has to do with witchcraft or magic. At times she can be a downright bitch about it. But you're right, I do miss it sometimes."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, I miss doing magic a lot."

Draco pulled her in close to him and gave her a kiss on her forehead. He was glad she was finally admitting it. "That's my girl. "

"If only I had my wand..."

"Don't worry about your wand because Caroline has it."

"What? How? I didn't think she even knew I had one."

"Don't you know that you can't get away with anything when Caroline is around? When she saw your mother get rid of it, she took it and hid it someplace."

* * *

Blaise woke up with an arm resting on his chest. He lifted one eye and traced the arm to its owner. Instead of seeing light blond hair like he expected, the person had dark hair, almost black. It was one of the twins.

_Oh, this is bad_, he thought.

He looked to his left and saw the other twin still sleeping also.

_Oh, this is really bad._

He lifted his head a little and looked over the other twin to another body lying beside her. It was Eric.

_Oh, this is really, really fucked up bad._

He tried in vain to remember the night before. He remembered tucking Caroline into bed. Then he went across the hall to Narcissa's room. He peaked in, but she wasn't there. He was about to go home when Celine (or was it Celeste - he couldn't tell them apart) came out the suite they were staying in and invited him in for a drink.

He remembered sitting down with the twins and started to work on a bottle of Ogden's Finest. The twins were also drinking and passing a joint between them. They offered it to Blaise, but he declined. He and marijuana did not get along.

As the night wore on, Blaise got pretty drunk. And it takes a lot to get him drunk. He no longer declined smoking the pot and that's when he stopped remembering. Sometime during the night Eric joined them.

The bed was huge. There were pillows and sheets strewn around covering up the important parts of the bed's occupants. Blaise's torso was bare; he was afraid to look under the sheet to see if the rest of him was bare too. He let out a sigh of relief to find out he was wearing his boxers. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

He inched out of the bed being careful not to wake the others. He hoped that they didn't remember what happened last night either. Getting on his hands and knees, he searched for his trousers. He found them under the bed just as his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" asked Draco.

"Ah…um…long story. I'll tell you later." He frantically looked for his shirt and tie.

"We need to talk. There was an article about us in _The_ _Daily Prophet_. Meet me at St. Mungo's later. And Blaise."

"Yeah?"

"You better not be in my mother's bedroom."

"Don't worry. If she finds out what I might have done last night, she'll never speak to me again much less invite me into her bedroom." He clicked the phone shut.

He found his shirt and put it on not bothering to button it. He threw his tie around his neck and hopped on one leg as pulled his pants on. He opened the double door to the suite and silently crept out. He was zipping up his fly and reached to close the door when he got busted.

Caroline was standing in the hallway staring at him, her stuffed dragon in her arms. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well…uh…I um…fell asleep on the floor accidentally, and I'm going home."

The door was still ajar and Caroline strained to look around him into the room. She saw the other bodies on the bed.

"Did you have a slumber party?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Where are your pajamas? You're supposed to wear pajamas at a slumber party." She pointed to the ones still sleeping inside. "And they don't have pajamas on either."

"Caroline, I've got to go. Don't tell anyone you saw me, okay?"

"Anyone like me?" Narcissa stepped out of her room. She had her dressing gown on and was tying the sash. She folded her arms across her chest and shot daggers at Blaise. He swallowed hard.

"Blaise had a slumber party, Nana."

"I can see that." She tapped her foot.

"Cissa, I can explain." He looked behind him in the room. "Well, actually I can't explain. I'm sure I can explain once they tell me what happened. That is, if they remember what happened. This looks pretty bad, huh?"

"Oh, you can't fathom how bad. Follow me, Blaise. Let's have a chat."

Blaise blew out a sigh and followed Narcissa into her room. Caroline was close behind.

"Caroline, you need to go back to your room. I need to speak to Blaise privately."

"No way," said Caroline. "I want to watch you rip Blaise a new one."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Narcissa never heard that phrase before.

"Not sure, but Daddy does it a lot to the people that work for him. He raises his hands and yells and curses at them."

"I assure you, little one, that I'm not going to 'rip Blaise a new one' as you put it."

"Oh yes you are. You have the same face Daddy has when he does it. That reminds me. I need to get my curse notebook. I'll be right back," she said as she left the room. "Don't start without me."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: My apologies for being a little slower posting this chapter. This week has been tough. My cousin passed away from brain cancer on Thursday, and my mom is in intensive care in the hospital. This chapter also doesn't have a lot of Caroline in it (sorry), but for those of you who are curious about Blaise/Narcissa or Blaise/Luna, read on. Thanks again, for your reviews - they make me smile.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 17

Draco and Blaise were sitting in St. Mungo's cafeteria drinking coffee. Draco got him up to speed about what happened with the pensieve and Hermione. Blaise wasn't surprised that he and Hermione finally showed 'something' for each other. He filled Draco in on what happened the night before at the Manor and the aftermath. Blaise still didn't know the details of what happened. He would have to catch up with one of the twins to fill him in. But he didn't know if he really wanted to know what happened or not.

"Yeah, Narcissa forgave me, and we spent most of the morning having wild monkey sex," said Blaise.

"I don't want to hear this." Draco cupped his hands over his ears. "La, la, la, la, la, la, la."

Blaise threw his head back and laughed. "Malfoy, you are so gullible, you'd believe anything."

"You mean you didn't have wild monkey sex with my mother?"

"Are you kidding? I want to keep my balls, thank you very much. I don't want to feel the wrath of Draco Malfoy. I'm not that stupid."

"So what's this flirty, flirty stuff between you two?"

"Aw, that's nothing. We just like to get a rise out of you. It appears to work. Seriously though, it would probably feel too incestuous if anything really happened between us. She's practically my mum, you know? Plus after the stunt last night, she thinks I'm really immature."

"I knew my mother had better taste than to get involved with the likes of you." A waitress came around and refilled their coffee.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaise asked pretending to look offended.

"That means that you couldn't date a respectable witch if your life depended on it. You only go out with bimbos that the only talent they have is giving a good blow job."

"I could too." Blaise looked around the cafeteria. "See the witches around this cafeteria? I would say that most of them are probably respectable. They're healers and medi-witches and whatnot. Pick out any woman in here and I bet I can get a date with them just like that." He snapped his fingers.

"A little over confident, aren't you, Blaise?" He looked around the cafeteria for a possible candidate. "Any witch?" asked Draco.

"Well, at least choose one half way decent looking. And maybe under 30 if possible."

Draco saw someone coming toward them with in tray in her hands. He smiled like a Cheshire cat and motioned her to side down with them.

Blaise looked over his shoulder and saw Luna Lovegood walking towards them. He groaned. "Are you kidding? I heard she doesn't date. She just stays home all the time talking to her cats."

"What, are we a little afraid? I thought you said you could get any witch in here with a snap of your fingers." Draco was confident that Luna would turn Blaise down. That would serve the cocky bastard right.

Luna sat her tray down. "Hi Draco, Blaise." She took her seat and unwrapped the peanut butter, pickle and potato chip sandwich she brought from home.

Blaise looked at her with second thoughts. But what the hell, he thought he would just jump in and go for it. "Hey Luna, how about you and I go out Friday night?"

Draco smirked at Blaise waiting for her to turn him down. "Sure Blaise, I'd love to. Could you pass the salt?"

Blaise shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? It's a gift." Draco rolled his eyes.

* * *

Draco entered Hermione's room with a dozen red roses and one white one in the center. He placed them on her bedside table.

"Good news, you get to go home tomorrow. I just talked to Healer Jenkins in the hallway."

"Yes!" Hermione pumped her fist and sprang up from the bed. She threw her arms around Draco's neck and hugged him.

She looked over at the roses. The one single white rose made her curious. "Thanks for the flowers, but I don't understand the white one."

Draco sat down on the edge of her bed. "Pick it up and see what happens."

She tentatively reached for the white rose. Maybe it was a trick flower and would squirt water in her face. Or maybe it would send electric shocks through her arm. She took a deep breath and pulled the rose from the others. She let out a sigh of relief when nothing happened. Or so she thought.

Hermione lightly held the flower and tipped it to her nose to inhale its scent. Her hand began to tingle all of a sudden moving up to her fingers. She looked at Draco uncertainly. The rose started to vibrate in her hand. All of a sudden it exploded in a white light. She jumped at the noise and looked down at her hand. In her palm laid her wand. It sparkled for a moment and then went back to its normal state.

She looked at it disbelieving. "My wand! I can't believe it! My wand!" She looked over at Draco with tears in her eyes that were starting to trickle down her face. Again she threw her arms around his neck, but this time molded her lips to his. After a slow and affectionate kiss, they reluctantly pulled apart.

"How can I ever thank you?" She looked down lovingly at the wand she hadn't seen for about five years.

He nuzzled in close to her neck and breathed heavily. "I'll think of something." Shivers consumed her whole body.

* * *

A little after lunchtime, Narcissa and Caroline walked in the hospital room. Narcissa looked a little shell-shocked and not as pulled together as she usually is. The Muggle clothes she was wearing was a little askew and her hair not as smooth as usual.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Draco took her by the arm and sat her down at the nearest chair.

"Nana asked me where I wanted to go for lunch, and I told her I wanted to go to Chucky Chicken."

Narcissa looked up at her son. "What a foul, despicable place. I can't believe Caroline ate all that nauseating food."

"It was really yummy, but Nana didn't want to try it."

Draco laughed. "I can't say I blame her. What is that in your hair, Mother?" He picked a white feather out of her hair.

"The man in the chicken suit was hitting on me. I was honestly tempted to turn him into a real chicken," Narcissa said. Caroline started to get the bad case of the giggles.

"Oh, you think that's funny do you?" He picked Caroline up and started to tickle her. "I'll show you what's funny."

"She just ate, Malfoy. I wouldn't tickle her if I were you," warned Hermione.

Caroline squealed with laughter. "Relax, Granger. She loves it. Don't you, Cupcake?"

All of a sudden Caroline got really quiet.

Hermione counted down. "Three, two, one…"

Caroline vomited all over Draco's robes.

"What the bloody hell?" Draco looked down at his robes with disgust.

Caroline jumped off his lap to get away from the mess. "See what you did? Next time, you better do what Mummy says."

After she cleaned up, Caroline ran into her mother's arms. "Mummy, do you like having your wand back?"

"Yes, I do, sweetheart. You were a very smart girl to take my wand and hide it from your grandmother."

"Well, I've got a better grandmother now. She's nice and she likes magic. Right, Nana?"

Narcissa started to walk toward Hermione and smiled. "It's so good to see you looking so well after your accident. Draco was quite worried about you."

"Mother…" Draco warned.

She ignored him. "We are so looking forward to having you stay at the Manor during your convalescence. Your suite is connected to Caroline's. And Trixie and Pixie will be at your beck and call should you need anything."

Hermione stared at her with her mouth hung open. She quickly recovered and glared at Draco. "What does she mean by moving into your Manor? With my own suite? Next to Caroline's?" Her face was getting redder with each question.

"I told her you'd never move into the Manor. But you do need someone to watch over you for a while. At least that's what the healer says."

Hermione was doing her best to keep her temper in check. It was zapping all her strength to do so. She didn't want to explode in front of Caroline.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear. Caroline and I WILL NOT be moving into the Manor. I can 'convalesce' quite nicely in my own home - on my own."

Narcissa winked and nodded to Caroline without Hermione watching. That was Caroline's cue to go into her act.

"Oh, Mummy! Can't we please, please, please live in the Manor? I love my new room and my bathroom is huge – bigger than my room at home. Plus Nana is really lonely in that big ol' house." She was giving Hermione her saddest looking eyes. She made her lip quiver and sniffed as if she would burst into tears at any moment. "I really don't want to go back to our old house," she said with a pout.

"Nice try, Caroline. But the answer is still 'no'. I appreciate your offer, Mrs. Malfoy, but my decision has been made."

"Very well, Miss Granger. But should you change your mind, our doors are always open. We'll keep Caroline's room as is so she can come and spend the night sometime, if that is agreeable to you." Narcissa was a patient woman. She knew when to push and when not to. She didn't want to shut off all chances at seeing her granddaughter. She needed to keep on Hermione's good side.

* * *

Narcissa took Caroline back to the Manor. A few minutes later, Blaise walked into the hospital room and handed Draco some legal-looking documents. "Here, this should take care of _The Daily Prophet_ problem. You are now the proud owner of that rag."

Hermione looked back and forth at both of them. "You bought the _Prophet_?" She said in astonishment.

"Yep. Rita Skeeter will be getting her walking papers soon."

"You get pissed at a company and just buy it?"

"Yeah, so what?" He looked at Hermione and shrugged, acting as if this was a common occurrence. "Money talks, shit walks, Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered, "Un-fucking-believable."

"So Blaise, did you and Luna get things squared away for Friday night?" asked Draco wanting to change the subject.

"What's happening Friday night? Or should I even ask?" Hermione rearranged herself on the bed. She was now sitting with her legs crossed.

"Draco doubted my ability to get a date with a respectable witch, and I proved him wrong by asking Luna out. I offered to pick her up around 7:00, but she asked me to come earlier so I could help her move a chair."

"A chair? Well, you never know what to expect with Luna," said Hermione.

"Yeah, she said a tantra chair was delivered yesterday but she didn't like where they put it, so I'm going to help her move it."

Hermione started sniggering. "A tantra chair?" She looked at him with a big grin on her face.

Blaise looked at her curiously. "Yeah, what's so funny about a fucking chair?" He looked over at Draco, who shrugged and shook his head.

"Because a tantra chair is a 'fucking' chair. Haven't you heard of tantric sex?" She threw her head back and laughed.

"Obviously not. It must be a Muggle thing. Why don't you tell me Miss Know-It-All."

Hermione began to explain the basic concept. "Tantric sex is more of a spiritual sex than physical. I can picture Luna being into something like that. Orgasm is not the main goal. You prolong the act to increase the sexual energy and intimacy. The tantra chair is supposed to enhance various sexual positions. I've heard of couples having sex for days."

Blaise swallowed hard. "For days?"

Draco looked at him enviously. "You lucky bastard."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for my family. It really means a lot to me. I'm glad to see so many of you enjoying this story. I appreciate your comments and reviews. It's nice to see that so many of you have the same warped sense of humor I have.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 18

Saturday morning Caroline was sitting on Draco's desk in his office at Malfoy Enterprises. She was swinging her legs back and forth kicking the side of the desk with her heels. He was trying to read a financial statement.

"Knock it off, Caroline. I'm trying to concentrate."

"Okie Dokie." She reached over to his little bowl of paper clips and started stringing them together. He was going to be in for a surprise when he tries to pick up one paper clip and discovering it being clipped to dozens of others. She hummed as she went about her task.

"Caroline. No humming."

"Boy, you're sure Mr. Grouchy Pants today."

Blaise walked into the room with his 'I just got laid' swagger. He plopped down in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk.

Draco looked up. "Well? I want details."

Blaise looked over at Caroline and nodded to Draco. "Uh, Caroline, why don't you go play in the other room? Blaise and I have some boring business stuff to talk about."

"No, I don't want to," she sassed back.

"Caroline!" Draco yelled as he pointed to the door. "Out! Now!"

Caroline hopped off the desk and stomped angrily out the door with her fists clenched. She did not like being dismissed like that.

"Okay, spill," Draco said as soon as they were alone.

"I think I'm in love." Blaise put his hands over his heart.

"With Luna or the chair," teased Draco.

"Both – it's a package deal. Luna is a hidden treasure. To look at her, she's this quiet, shy quirky girl. But behind closed doors, she's a fearless tiger. She had some moves even I hadn't seen before. Very creative, that one."

"So the chair was good?"

Blaise smirked. "The chair was good, her bed was good, the shower was good, the kitchen table was good…"

"Okay, okay, I get the picture." He put his hands up to motion him to stop. "So are you going to go out again?"

"Well, we really didn't go 'out' last night, if you know what I mean."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Seriously mate, you gotta get one of those chairs."

"Yeah, like I really have a need for one," grumbled Draco.

"What about you and Granger? It seems you've been getting a little cozy lately." Blaise wiggled his eyebrows.

"It's not like that. I don't know. It's complicated. She's different than anyone I've ever been with."

"Of course she's different than anyone you've ever been with. She actually has a brain, she doesn't agree with everything you say, and she's not interested in your vaults. Sounds like the perfect woman for you."

"I don't know. It's really confusing."

"Quit being wishy-washy. Just shag her and get it over with. Plus you'll be more pleasant to be around. You've been a grouch lately."

"Is shagging your answer to everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Blaise gave him one of his thousand-watt smiles.

"Okay, that's it. I'm tired of this conversation." Draco reached over and grabbed a stack of parchments to sign.

Blaise put his reading glasses on and checked messages on his Blackberry. All of a sudden he snorted.

Draco looked up at him. "What's so funny?"

Blaise tossed the Blackberry to Draco. On the screen a message read, 'UR A POOPHEAD.' The email was from Draco Malfoy. Draco ran into the other room. Caroline was sitting at a desk typing with two fingers on the computer. His email was left open, and Caroline, unknowingly, sent the message to everyone in his address book.

Draco grabbed both sides of his head. "Arrggg! Caroline, I'm going to skin you within an inch of your life." He grabbed her away from the computer and looked to see who all she sent the message to. Board members, ministry officials, customers, and countless others received the message.

"It's all your fault." Caroline put her hands on her hips. "You made me come in here. Anyway, you shouldn't leave your computer on like that," she scolded.

"Caroline, goddammit, you just called the Minister of Magic a poophead."

"Actually, _you_ called the Minister of Magic a poophead. The email came from you, Daddy."

Draco put his head in his hands and groaned. "How can this day get any worse?"

Just then, Draco got a reply from the Minister of Magic himself. Draco was lucky the Minister had a sense of humor. He and Blaise both stared at the message. Caroline giggled, placing her hand over her mouth. The message read, 'MALFOY, YOU HAVE SHIT FOR BRAINS.'

* * *

As soon as Hermione was released from the hospital later that day, Draco took her and Caroline to her little cottage that she loved so much. He wasn't too happy to take her back to her house. He would have rather her and Caroline stay with him. But this is what she wanted, so he reluctantly gave in. This was one of the first times he didn't get his way, and he didn't like it one bit.

As they approached the house, something didn't feel right.

Her garden looked neglected, but that was to be expected with her absence. Looking up toward the windows, she noticed the curtains were not hung right. And there appeared to be a large crack in the front window.

They slowly climbed up the front steps and approached the door. As they entered the house, Hermione gasped. The inside was a total disaster. Someone had broken in and destroyed most of their possessions.

"Oh, no," cried Caroline. "Our house is wrecked."

Draco looked around in shock. "Holy fuck!" He put his arm around Hermione's shoulder as she gawked at the scene before her.

It looked like the work of common thieves. Cushions from the sofa were thrown about. Plates, bowls and cups from her china cabinet were shattered into a million pieces. Pictures were ripped down from the walls and curtains from their rods. Pages from her beloved books were torn and scattered about. Caroline's snow globe collection was smashed on the floor.

"Does anything seem to be missing?" asked Draco.

"It's hard telling with all this mess." Her voice was trembling. "Who would come in here and do such a thing? We really don't have anything of real value."

They moved to the kitchen. The refrigerator door was hung open and all its contents were spilled inside. All her kitchen utensils, and pots and pans were on the floor. The wooden kitchen table looked as if it had been set on fire.

Hermione broke away from Draco and walked toward the bedrooms. A scream filled the house. Draco ran into her bedroom with Caroline close behind. On one of the walls, the words, 'MUDBLOOD BITCH' was written in some kind of blood. Hermione's knees gave out and she collapsed to the floor.

"Stay back, Caroline," ordered Draco.

This was not a random Muggle robbery. This was personal and obviously done by a witch or wizard.

Draco lifted her up from the floor and sat her down on the edge of her bed. It was hard to find a place that wasn't ripped or soiled with blood.

"I'm calling Potter," said Draco. "Gather some of your clothes. You're coming to stay with me."

Hermione didn't argue. She knew that she and Caroline could not stay in that house and feel safe. She slowly walked over to her closet. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, she opened the closet door to find all her clothes had been shredded with scissors or some kind of knife.

"Let's get out of here. We can deal with this place tomorrow." Draco grabbed Hermione and Caroline and apparated them all to the Manor.

* * *

Caroline was in her room unpacking her belongings since she was now back at the Manor. She wanted to live in the Manor anyway, but she was sad at what happened to their home. She was particularly sad about her snow globe collection.

Since Hermione's rooms weren't ready, Draco insisted she stay in his. At this point, she really didn't care where she slept as long as it wasn't in a hospital bed. He left her in the room to get settled and had tea and biscuits brought up from the kitchen.

She looked around at the lush furnishings. She thought Draco would have been a black leather and chrome kind of guy. But the furnishings she saw where made of a rich dark cherry wood. The color scheme was a dark emerald green and cream. No images of snakes anywhere, she was relieved. She now understood why Caroline liked it here so much.

She walked into the bathroom. There was a whirlpool tub that could easily fit six people. She would love to spend a week in that tub. Next to the bathtub was a huge shower with five showerheads pointing toward the center and a bench. She mulled over at what the bench could be used for, but she gave herself a mental headshake. She didn't want to go there. Yet. On the far side of the room was a fireplace. Who in the heck has a fireplace in their bathroom, she mused. Draco Malfoy of course - that pretentious bastard.

Hermione went back in the bedroom and picked up the tray of tea and biscuits. She eyed the liquor cabinet, so she also helped herself to a shot of firewhiskey in her tea. On second thought, she placed the bottle of firewhiskey on the tray as well. She took the tray to the bathroom and set it next to the tub. Her magic was getting stronger so she flicked her wand at the fireplace to light it up. She then flicked it toward the tub, and the water starting pouring from the faucet. She stripped off her clothes and gently stepped into the inviting water.

The antiseptic smell of the hospital stuck to her skin so she scrubbed every inch of her body to remove the scent. After she was done, she finished her tea. She eyed the bottle of firewhiskey and decided to take a big swig of that as well. Hell, there wasn't much left, so she decided to finish it off. She leaned back into the tub to relax and closed her eyes.

In her slightly inebriated state, Hermione looked over toward the door and saw a tall, blond man leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. His eyes were the most intensely dark gray that she could remember seeing. The way he looked at her gave her a wave of chills down her body. She stiffened as he slowly approached the tub.

"Breathe Granger; I won't hurt you – unless you want me to," he said in a low seductive voice. He took off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She couldn't believe this was happening, but she was pleased it was. She really wanted this although she was terrified.

She didn't open her eyes until he was in the tub hovering above her. He looked at her full of lust and slowly captured her lips with his. She closed her eyes as the kiss intensified; the sound of her moans filled the bathroom.

"Ah, Granger," he purred. "Granger. Granger."

"Granger. Granger. Wake up." Someone was shaking her shoulder. "You've been in here for an hour. You're going to shrivel up like a prune."

She opened her eyes to see Draco standing over her (fully clothed). "That sure must have been some dream you were having," he smirked. "The way you were moaning, I hope it was about me." He winked at her.

She quickly got over her embarrassment and tried to splash him with the luke-warm bath water. He quickly moved away and headed toward the door, snickering. "Ooooh, you – get the hell out of here Malfoy."She threw her loofah at him but missed.

Hermione stood up and grabbed a warm towel and wrapped it around her body after giving herself a quick wand drying. "I'll show him. How dare that prat just walk out like that," she muttered to herself.

With the towel securely wrapped around her, she stormed into the bedroom where Draco was looking at some mail at his desk. She stopped behind him and cleared her throat. He turned around and looked at her up and down. A big smile grew on his face as something else grew in his trousers.

"See something you like, Malfoy?" she teased. She started slowly opening the towel.

"Uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Granger."

"Why? Are you afraid? I won't hurt you – unless you want me to." She opened the towel a little wider.

Draco licked his lips. "Really, Granger. I'm warning you. I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She let the towel drop at her feet. Draco couldn't take his eyes off her voluptuous body. He would have loved to ravish her right then and there if only…

"Gee, Mummy. You really should put some clothes on."

Hermione cringed and closed her eyes. "She's been behind me the whole time, hasn't she?"

He slowly nodded his head. "Yep," he smiled. "Listen Cupcake," he said over Hermione's shoulder, "why don't you go play in your room while I find your mum some clothes."

"No, I'd rather stay here." She was sitting on Draco's bed Indian-style. Hermione was still too mortified to turn around.

Draco pointed to the door, "Caroline! Out! Now!"

She jumped off the bed and stomped toward the door. "Why do I always have to leave the room?" she grumbled to herself. "It's not like I haven't seen her naked before." She slammed the door behind her.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. Thank you for continuing to review and adding it to your favs/alerts. You won't find out right away who trashed Hermione's house. But you will in due time.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

* * *

Chapter 19

Draco pounded his fist on the bathroom door. "Open up, Granger!"

"Go away, Malfoy," said Hermione from the other side.

"Come on, Granger. It's no big deal." He chuckled. "So what if Caroline saw you naked? It's nothing she hasn't seen before…and it's something I'd like to see more of."

"You're a disgusting pig, Malfoy."

"I'm a disgusting pig? I'm not the one parading around nude in front of our daughter."

He heard Hermione groan from the other side of the door. "I'm a terrible mother. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking how you'd like to jump my bones. At least that's what most women think when they strip in front of me."

"Arrggg! I'm going to hex you, Malfoy."

"Fine. But in order to do that you need to come out of the bathroom."

"Never. I can live quite comfortably in this bathroom as a matter of fact."

He pounded on the door again. He was losing his patience. "Get out here, you stubborn witch."

"And have you mercilessly ridicule me? No way!"

Draco's voice softened. "I won't ridicule you…too much."

"Fuck off," she yelled.

"Okay, that does it. No more Mr. Nice Guy." He pointed his wand at the door and blew it off its hinges in a big explosion. He walked into the room to find Hermione pointing her wand at him. She was wearing one of his bath robes, which was much too big for her, but made her look as sexy as hell.

Draco started slowly walking toward her. "Accio Granger's wand." Her wand flew out of her hand and into his.

"You son of a bitch!" She looked at him with her eyes narrowed. "Give me back my wand."

He continued to walk toward her in calculated steps with a lecherous smile on his face. Frightened and excited by the way he looked at her, she started to back up.

"Now, now, now, don't be frightened," he taunted. "I won't hurt you – unless you want me too," he said in a dangerously low voice. She kept backing up until she felt the warm fire from the fireplace on her back.

With a quick flick of his wand, he made the sash of her robe untie. The two ends fell downward as both sides of the robe pulled apart. As he reached her, he placed both of their wands behind her on the fireplace mantel. As if he was opening a present, he opened her robe and took in the sight before him. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily.

With his right hand resting on the mantel, this left began to caress the curve of her waist and hip. The robe slipped off her shoulders but her arms were still in the sleeves. His hand moved up to her breast, which caused her to take in a quick breath. His thumb brushed over her nipple.

He leaned in slowly and gently kissed her neck. He loved her scent and inhaled deeply. He sniffed again and again. He leaned back and looked at her with confusion on his face. "What is that smell?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him like he was crazy. Considering the mood, that was one statement she was not expecting. "What do you mean?" As soon as she asked that question, her eyes got wide and she screamed. She felt the blistering heat quickly crawl up the back of her legs.

The bottom of the robe had brushed the hot coals and was now on fire. Draco tried to bat away the flames with his hand. Dumb move. He looked around the bathroom in a panic. Hermione was still screaming.

The bathtub was still full of water, so he quickly picked her up and dumped her into the tub with a big splash. A loud hissing sound and steam were made as soon as her burning robe made contact with the cold water.

Draco leaned over and put his hands on his knees. His body was shaking with laughter. "Are you okay?"

"You think that's funny, do you? No, I'm not okay. My legs have burns on them." Hermione grabbed his tie and gave it a big yank. Draco lost his balance and tumbled into the tub with her.

Draco was completely soaked. His fine blond hair hung on his face. He spit out the water that collected in his mouth. As soon as he righted himself, he told a hold of Hermione's head and dunked her into the water. "You'll pay for that!" With her head still underwater, she grabbed at his wrists and tried to get him to release his hold. He relented and let her up for air. He took off his wet shirt and slung it to the floor.

Narcissa stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. What she saw shocked her. Her son was trying to drown Hermione. When she heard the explosion, she came running to see what was wrong. Hermione's screams made her run even faster.

Their splashing in the water was loud enough so that they didn't hear her come in. Hermione's wet hair covered her face. She coughed from the water in her mouth. Draco parted the thick curtain of hair to reveal a laughing and crying Hermione. The pain from her burns was starting to worsen. He smiled down at her and held her face with both hands as he leaned down and kissed her feverishly. She pulled his body on top of hers and wove her fingers through his hair. Pain be damned.

"Oh my," said Narcissa, realizing that they weren't fighting after all, but quite the opposite was true. She covered her eyes, "Oh my!" She started backing out of the room when Caroline ran up behind her. She heard the ruckus too, and not wanting to be left out, came to see what was going on.

"Eww, gross. They're snogging."

Narcissa quickly spun Caroline around and began pushing her toward the bedroom door. "It looks like your mother and father need some time alone." They walked toward Caroline's room so she could be tucked into bed. Again.

"Am I going to get a baby brother soon?" Caroline wasn't sure, but based on what Teddy and Blaise told her, she suspected that kissing had something to do with making babies.

Narcissa muttered to herself, "By the look of things, it might be sooner than you think." Of course, Caroline heard her comment.

* * *

The next morning Blaise had some business to discuss with Draco – namely the vandalism at Hermione's house. Harry sent a team to investigate, but so far came up with nothing. The blood on the wall happened to be pig's blood. It was still quite a mystery.

He almost started to knock on his best friend's bedroom door when he heard sounds from the other side.

"Oh, Malfoy," Hermione moaned. "Mmm, that feels so good. Ow, too hard. Mmm, yes, that's it."

Blaise raised his eyebrows. So Draco decided to take his advice, he thought. It was about time. He smirked and was ready to turn to leave when he heard another familiar voice.

"Draco, rub some of that here," said Luna.

"Ohh, that feels wonderful. Luna, you are the best," Hermione purred. "I could just kiss you right now."

That was all Blaise could take. He burst through the door to catch the three of them in the act. But what he saw wasn't what he expected. "What the hell?"

Hermione lay naked on her stomach on Draco's bed. There was a towel draped over her mid-section and bum. Luna and Draco were sitting on each side applying a white cream to the back of Hermione's legs.

"What's going on here?"

Luna spoke up. "It appears Hermione's robe caught on fire and burned the back of her legs. She refused to go to St. Mungo's, so Draco called me to see if I could help."

"Listening in on the other side, things sounded a little kinky," Blaise said.

Luna crawled to the end of the bed where Blaise was standing and put her arms around his neck. "If it had been a real orgy, we would have invited you."

He smiled at her and gave her a few pecks on the lips. "That's good to know. I was worried there for minute that you were having fun without me," he pouted.

* * *

"Malfoy, stop it!" Hermione yelled. Draco's hand was under the towel massaging her bum. "The burns are on my legs, you moron."

"Sorry, my hand slipped," he chuckled. He took off his bath robe and got under the covers. They were alone at last. Maybe they could continue where they left off last night before Hermione started screaming in pain.

Luna and Blaise went down to breakfast. At least that's where they said they were going. Knowing them, they probably found an empty bedroom to christen.

Caroline bounced into the room. She hopped on the bed and looked between her mother and her father.

"I guess privacy is a rare commodity around here," sighed Draco. Hermione snorted.

"Why is Mummy still naked? Didn't you find any clothes for her?"

"Well, you see, she accidently burned her legs. So wearing clothes is a little painful at the moment."

"Oh, okay. But why are you naked?" Draco had on his boxers, but Caroline couldn't see them.

Draco thought a moment. "I didn't want your mother to feel weird with not having any clothes on, so I took mine off too," he lied.

"Oh, okay." She hesitated a little. Then she took off her nightgown and was left with only her Hello Kitty panties on. She lay on top of the covers and looked over at Hermione.

"I don't want you to feel weird either, Mummy."

* * *

Later that morning, Narcissa and Caroline were sitting at the table in the dining room eating breakfast. As usual, Caroline sat on her knees and leaned her elbows on the table. Narcissa made a mental note of the things she was going to have to teach Caroline about manners and etiquette.

Draco walked into the room and gave Narcissa a quick peck on the cheek. "Good Morning, Mother."

"Don't I get a kiss too?" asked Caroline.

He smiled as he walked over to her side of the table, pulled her head back and kissed her on the forehead.

"That's better," she said.

"I'm glad that I meet your approval." He sat down and reached for the coffee. Narcissa was giving him an odd look.

"What?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"Oh, nothing," his mother said. She smirked at him as if she was in on a big secret.

Hermione walked into the room a little slower than she normally would. She wore a loose fitting dress that Luna loaned her. The burns on the legs were still bothering her although they felt much better after Luna arrived with the cream.

Narcissa took her slow steps to mean something else. Was her son an animal in bed like his father was? She started to feel sorry for the girl if Draco had a sexual appetite like Lucius had. She felt a bit envious, too. Just to have the feeling that someone desired you that much gave her goose bumps - something she hadn't felt in years.

Draco got out of his seat and pulled out Hermione's chair for her.

"Guess what?" asked Caroline. "Nana said I'm going to get a baby brother soon."

Hermione choked on her orange juice. Draco gave his mother a disapproving look. "What in the world gives you that idea, Mother?"

Narcissa stumbled over her worlds. "Well…I…um…last night…"

"We saw you two snogging in the bathtub last night," said Caroline. She made loud kissing noises.

"Cut it out, Caroline." Draco turned to his mother and looked at her in disbelief. "You were spying on us?"

"I…um…heard an explosion and screaming…"

"Granger was screaming because she was on fire," Draco explained.

"Well, I could see that much. You two were pretty hot and heavy," said Narcissa.

"No, Mother. I meant that she was really on fire. Show her your legs, Granger." Hermione slowly got up and displayed her burnt legs.

Narcissa gasped. "I'm so sorry. That's why you were walking slowly. I'm afraid I jumped to the wrong conclusion."

Hermione's face turned a dark shade of pink. Draco started to laugh.

"So I'm not getting a baby brother?" asked Caroline.

"No!" Draco and Hermione said in unison.

"Okay. Then how about a puppy?"


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews. Sorry to drag it out but Draco's not going to get any in this chapter either. I know, I am a very mean person.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 20

Harry gave Hermione the go ahead to return to her house for cleaning up. He and his team of Aurors (including Ron) did a second, more thorough investigation and took all the evidence they could. One new particular piece of evidence was especially troubling Harry. But until further analysis was done, he remained silent.

Draco was suspicious right away when Ron was there. He wouldn't put it past the git to destroy evidence. Hermione was wary of him also, and mentioned it to Harry, who just scoffed at her. "Ron is a lot of things, Mione, but a there is no way he's capable of doing anything like this. I trust him. You should too, just like you used to."

"A lot has changed since then, Harry. Ron is not the same person he was at Hogwarts, and nether am I." She said this with a little bit of sadness. "But for your sake, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt."

After all the Aurors left, Hermione got to work cleaning up in the kitchen as Draco and Caroline started in the bedrooms. Draco picked his daughter up and held her little hand as they swooshed the wand around to repair broken items. She gasped in awe as things reverted back to their original state. The tasks that would have taken days to clean up were completed within a couple of hours with the help of their wands.

Caroline was bored and hungry so she sent into the kitchen to get a snack. Draco was in her bedroom finishing up when he noticed something sticking out from behind her bookcase. He reached down and grabbed a pink book. It was Caroline's scrapbook. She had shown him the book the first time he babysat her. He sat down on her bed and opened it.

He remembered the pocket that held her birth certificate. With a delicate touch, he pulled it out of its pocket and slowly opened it. He noticed the first time he saw it that there was no signature on the line where the father would have signed. He reached in his pocket and withdrew a fountain pen. He liked writing with a Muggle fountain pen because it was the closest thing to the feel of a quill.

Hermione moved quietly behind him and looked over his shoulder. He stared a moment at the certificate and then quickly scrawled 'Draco L. Malfoy' on the line. Hermione let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he looked back at her and slightly smiled. Slowly she leaned down and kissed him sweetly on the lips. No words were exchanged. There didn't need to be. She started to pull away, but Draco had a hold of her neck so she couldn't. With his lips still touching hers, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and started kissing her more aggressively.

Caroline shouted from the kitchen. "You two better not be snogging in my bedroom."

"Out of the mouths of babes," said Hermione.

"How does she do that? She must have some kind of radar that kicks in."

The doorbell rang. Hermione got up to answer it, but Draco grabbed her wrist. Caroline beat her to the door anyway. "Don't go. Let Caroline answer it. It's probably just someone selling something."

She pulled out of his grasp. "I'll get rid of them quickly then." She walked down the little hallway to the front door where Caroline was waiting. She knew better than to answer the door by herself. Hermione opened it to find Carol Granger standing there.

"Mother!" She gasped at the sight of a much harried looking woman. Carol Granger looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.

"Finally, I've been able to catch you. Mrs. Grobin from across the street had to call me to tell me you were home. You didn't even have the courtesy to call me to tell me you were alright." She gave Hermione a stern look. "I've looked everywhere for you. I didn't know where they took you. I've been so worried." She was clearly agitated.

Hermione rubbed her mother's back trying to calm her. She led her into the kitchen and started to fix her some tea. Carol calmed down a little.

"Caroline, say hello to your grandmother. Don't be rude," said Hermione.

"Hello," said Caroline with a frown. She promptly turned on her heel and bolted out of the kitchen.

"You really should teach her better manners, Hermione."

Hermione ignored her mother's comment. "Mum, I'm so sorry to worry you, but I've been fine…really. I was taken to St. Mungo's where I was able to heal ten times faster than in a regular hospital. If it weren't for my friends, I'd probably still be in a coma." Draco came into the room and could feel the tension. He snaked his arm around Hermione's waist as she leaned against the counter.

"They had no right to take you away," Carol spat. If looks could kill, Draco would be a dead wizard. "I needed you, Hermione. Your father needed you." Lowering her head, she broke down into tears. "But now it's too late."

"What are you talking about, Mum?" asked Hermione. "Has Dad's condition worsened?"

Carol looked up at Hermione with the most intense pain in her eyes. "Your father passed away two days ago."

It felt like someone punched Hermione in the gut. She couldn't breathe. Her knees weakened, and she started to collapse. She would have landed on the floor if Draco hadn't caught her.

Hermione adored her father. Unlike her mother, Richard Granger was very understanding of the difficulty his daughter had growing up 'different.' He never judged her or her friends, and he was quite proud of her accomplishments.

Many heated discussions were held in the Granger household. He didn't agree with his wife's views about witches and wizards. But Carol almost always got her way. The one exception was the issue of Hermione going to Hogwarts. Richard backed his daughter 100% in her decision to attend a school where she would fit in better and be able to use her special talent.

Hermione hugged her mother but didn't know what to say. The guilt was piling up on her. She felt she'd been a terrible daughter, and that she let her parents down. Tears welled up in her eyes, but they refused to fall.

Carol sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue. "Well then, I must be going." She got up and headed toward the door. "The viewing and the funeral are tomorrow at 10:00 a.m." She gave Draco a disgusted look. "This is a funeral for family and normal people, of course." Subtlety was not this woman's strength.

After her mother left, Hermione went to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed in tears. Draco followed and sat on the edge of the bed. He wasn't sure what to do, so he just sat there quietly and rubbed her back.

She looked up at him. "Thanks, Malfoy. But I think I'd rather be alone now." Draco gave her a small nod and left the room.

*****

The day was sunny and the temperature crisp. Guests were arriving steadily through the double doors of the church. Many of them were Dr. Granger's patients. He was well-liked in the community. Too bad the same thing couldn't be said about his wife.

Carol and Hermione stood by the casket to talk to the guests during the viewing before the actual service. Many hugs and consolations were given for their loss. Since Carol wasn't the most approachable woman, many people drifted toward Hermione.

A new group of people approached the doors of the sanctuary. Most had never been in a church before – except the youngest one.

In the doorway, Caroline held Draco's hand as he took in the beauty of the sanctuary. Sunshine spilled through the stained-glass windows casting multiple colors around the room. The casket, made of rich mahogany, was displayed in front of the altar with hundreds of beautiful flowers along each end as well as the front and top.

Draco looked nervously over his shoulder at the others. Blaise gave him a little nudge. "Go on, mate. Do you think you're going to burst into flames or something?" Since he figured that he wasn't on God's A-list, and a wizard to boot, that's exactly what Draco thought would happen.

Holding his breath, Draco took a step into the sanctuary. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized he hadn't burst into flames or struck by lightning after all. He looked over his shoulder to the others and smirked.

Caroline felt it her duty to explain some things in the church. She pointed to the rows of pews. "Those are pews. Not because they stink, that's just what they're called."

She then pointed to the crucifix behind the altar. "That's Jesus. He's the boss. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have Christmas or presents. He also invented jelly beans for Easter."

Seeing Christ up on the cross with nails in his feet and hands and a crown of thorns on his head, Draco grimaced. "Wow, and I thought Death Eaters were bad. Look at what Muggles did to this poor bloke – and they didn't even use magic."

Blaise, Luna, Ginny, Harry, Neville and Padma followed Draco down the aisle. Caroline skipped ahead of them. They all had the good sense to wear Muggle clothing. As they neared the casket, Hermione turned around and looked at them in surprise. She was not expecting any of her friends to be there based on the warning her mother gave Draco.

Carol saw who was coming down the aisle as well. "What are those people doing here, Hermione? "she asked in a loud whisper. "I thought I made it clear that _those_ types of people were not welcome here."

"Mother, I _am_ one of those types of people. And they are not _those_ people, they're my friends. They've come to offer their condolences and support. Why don't you act more like the Christian you say you are and not judge them?"

"Yeah, Grandma, doesn't Jesus love everybody?" Caroline looked up at her grandmother with her wide blue-gray eyes.

"Yes he does, Caroline." The minister was standing a little behind them and just heard part of the conversation. He turned to the group and offered his hand not realizing they were witches and wizards; although he did feel there was something different about them. "Welcome," he smiled and shook their hands. "It's always a blessing to have good friends to share your joys…and your sorrows."

Ginny was the first to hug her friend and offer her sympathies. "Draco told us what happened. We're so sorry, Mione. "The others followed her lead. Everyone, except Draco, took their seats in one of the pews.

Draco grabbed both her hands in his and gently kissed her cheek. She put her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, "Thank you."

Caroline tugged at Hermione's skirt. "Where's my hug?" she said with a pout. She smiled down at her daughter, picked her up and gave her a bone-crushing hug and a kiss.

Draco took his seat as Hermione carried Caroline to the casket. One of the ushers brought a little stool for her to stand on. She climbed up on the stool and looked down at her grandfather.

The little girl looked over in the casket. "You said Grandpa died. He doesn't look dead; he just looks like he's sleeping."

"Shh, remember that you need to use your inside voice here, Caroline."

Caroline repeated her statement in a loud whisper so that everyone could hear anyway, "You said Grandpa died. He doesn't look dead; he just looks like he's sleeping. Is he going to heaven now?"

Her little fingers reached over into the casket and started to touch her grandfather's cold, stiff hand. Hermione quickly slapped it away. Carol was nearby and saw what happened. She scowled and said, "Please control her, Hermione. I don't want her disrupting the service. She shouldn't be here anyway; she's too young."

"Mother, she will be fine. She's just curious, that's all," said Hermione.

While the two women were talking, Caroline leaned over the edge of the casket to peak at what was under the closed half of the lid. She looked to her left and then to her right to make sure no one was watching her. She gently lifted up the blanket that covered the lower half of her grandfather's body, looked under it and gasped.

"Mummy, mummy! Come look," Caroline said in a loud whisper.

"Caroline, please be quiet. Don't interrupt when grown-ups are talking," said Hermione.

"But Mummy…" Several people that were still standing nearby turned to look at the little girl. "He doesn't have pants on."

That finally got Hermione's attention. "What did you say?"

"I said," Caroline said a lot louder, "He doesn't have pants. They forgot to put his pants on."

Carol groaned and fainted. The minister quickly went to her aid. The people in the congregation started whispering to their neighbors. The funeral director scurried to the casket to see what was happening.

Hermione's head was lowered and her body shaking. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. But she wasn't crying, she was laughing. "My father seems to have had a wardrobe malfunction."

The funeral director peaked under the closed lid, and lifted up the blanket. Sure enough, Richard Granger just had on a pair of boxers, his socks and shoes. "Oh my, oh my, oh my," he said. "This has never happened before. We had a new kid start this week who is a real prankster. My sincerest apologies, Miss Granger, we will correct the situation before the service."

Caroline put her little hands on her hips. "You'd better. 'Cuz God won't let him into heaven without pants."

*****

*****

A/N: I took some liberties with the church and funeral proceedings. I hope I didn't offend anyone.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: This chapter is a little lighter than the last one and really doen't have a lot to do with the story, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thank you for your kind comments. You will find out in the next chapter who trashed Hermione's house - stay tuned.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and the new one) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 21

Since most of Hermione's clothes were destroyed when her house was vandalized, she really needed to go shopping at a Muggle mall. She was tired of borrowing Ginny's clothes all the time. Not only was it an inconvenience, but Ginny's clothes were a little tight. Hermione was curvier than her friend, so certain things were a little snug, especially around the chest area.

Hermione always liked to shop alone because she could take her time and not be rushed. So when Draco suggested he go with her to the mall, she was less than thrilled. She tried her best to talk him out of it. It didn't help matters that Caroline wanted to go, too.

"But Mummy, you promised you'd take me to Build-a-Buddy, remember?" She was sitting at the table slathering butter on her pancakes. Then she poured maple syrup on top followed by a good sprinkling of powdered sugar. There was no doubt that the little blond girl had a sweet tooth.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. Malfoy, you can take her to Build-a-Buddy while I shop for clothes."

"What the hell's Build-a-Buddy?" asked Draco.

"You make your own stuffed animal and dress them and name them," Caroline explained. "Please Daddy? Please? Please? Please?" Sitting next to him Caroline got in her father's face and gave him a big grin and batted her eyelashes.

He couldn't help but smile back at her. "I'll tell you what. If you be a good girl while your mum and I shop, we'll take you to Build-a-Buddy."

"Malfoy, I really rather shop for clothes alone."

"No way, Granger. You know I have better taste than you. Let me help you pick them out."

"And have you dress me like a hooker? Thanks, but no thanks," said Hermione.

"No, not a hooker. I was thinking along the lines of a sophisticated call girl." He grinned and wagged his eyebrows.

"Then you're definitely not coming with me."

Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a coin. "I tell you what; we'll flip for it. Heads, I go with you. Tails, you go alone." What he failed to divulge was that it was a coin with heads on both sides.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

The afternoon was exhausting after going to only five stores. Draco and Hermione couldn't agree on anything. He had a taste for the best quality, whereas she was more practical and was looking for a good bargain. She always shopped on a budget. He didn't know what a budget was. Her intentions were to buy a few things to get by on, but Draco insisted that he pay for everything. After a while she was too tired to argue with him and let him have his way. It was obvious the man liked to shop.

When she finally picked an item they both agreed on, he wanted to buy one in every color.

"Most people just buy one in the color they like," said Hermione.

"Well, I'm not most people. I'm a Malfoy. If I see something I like, I buy multiples."

"Obviously, I'm not a Malfoy, so one is enough for me."

He looked at her as if he wanted to make another comment about not being a Malfoy, but decided against it. He led her to believe that she was just buying one of a certain item she liked, but made himself a mental note to go back later to buy the others.

Caroline was not left out of the shopping frenzy either. She had no problem picking out clothes she wanted to buy, which was about everything she saw. She positively had to have the shoes with the little wheels in the heel so she could skate/walk. She picked out tops, bottoms, knickers, socks, headbands, jackets – you name it. A shopaholic diva was being born - a true Malfoy through and through.

Another bone of contention was trying things on. Draco had to be kicked out of several dressing rooms by angry middle aged clerks. He told them was only making sure things fit properly. The clerks didn't buy it. So he sat outside the dressing rooms while Hermione tried on clothes, making her come out to model them.

As the day wore on, the things he picked out for her to try on were getting more revealing. The necklines were getting lower and the fit was tighter. But she had to admit (only to herself) that she looked good in the clothes he picked out.

Shoes were another issue. Hermione tried on shoes that were practical – a pair of flats, a pair of heels and some casual shoes to wear with jeans. Draco would have none of that. She had to buy a pair of shoes to match every outfit.

His favorite was a pair of red 'fuck me' pumps. "Now this is what I'm talking about," he said as he picked up and admired the shoes.

"No way am I walking in those. I'll fall and break my ankle or something," Hermione argued.

"Who said anything about you walking in them?" Draco winked at her.

She rolled her eyes and picked up a pair of bright crocs. "This is more my style."

"Those are the ugliest fucking shoes I've ever seen. People actually wear those?"

"I've hear they're really comfortable. Everyone is wearing them," she said.

"Are those a new method of birth control?" Draco snorted. "Because you definitely won't get laid if you wear those!"

*****

The three of them met up with Luna and Blaise in the mall. Caroline talked Blaise and Luna into taking her to Build-a-Buddy. Luna was actually excited to go and took Caroline by the hand and skipped with her to the store. She always wanted to create her own stuffed animal. Blaise just rolled his eyes, but humored her anyway. He was no fool. He knew it would be to his advantage to let the petite blond witch get what she wanted, so he could get what he wanted later on.

Caroline picked out a lion to make. She happily let the salesgirl show her how to stuff the animal and put a small heart made of satin in it. Before inserting it into the lion before it was stitched up, she was to make a wish and kiss the heart. She wouldn't tell the others what she wished for, because if she did, it wouldn't come true. It worked for her before, didn't it?

At last they came to the clothes. At this point she could decide if it was going to be a girl lion or a boy lion. She chose to make it a girl lion.

"Why not a boy lion?" asked Blaise.

Caroline looked at him like he was mentally slow. "Because she doesn't have a doogee, silly." She spread the lion's legs and shoved them in Blaise's face to show him.

Blaise turned his head and grimaced. "Okay, I believe you. No doogee," he laughed. He remembered what a doogee was when Draco told him about the incident at Chucky Chicken several months ago.

"What's a doogee?" asked Luna.

Caroline cupped her hand to Luna's ear and whispered to her, "Blaise has one, you don't." She pointed to Luna's crotch area.

"Ohhh," said Luna. "I've never heard it called that before."

Blaise whispered in a deep voice in Luna's other ear, "Do you want to see my doogee later?" He reached around and grabbed her bum and pulled her toward him. She gave him a wicked grin back.

Of course, Caroline didn't miss a thing. "You know, you shouldn't do that in front of a child," she scolded. Then she turned around continued to dress her lion in a pink tutu.

*****

While Blaise, Luna and Caroline were at Build-a Buddy, Draco and Hermione continued shopping, this time for him. Hermione tried to talk him into getting a pink dress shirt.

"What's the matter, Malfoy, are you afraid to embrace your feminine side? I think pink is your color."

"Malfoys don't wear pink…or purple…or any of those other girly colors."

"I guess you're right. You'd be the laughing stock of all the other Death Eaters if you showed up at the annual convention in a pink shirt." She loved to tease him about being a Death Eater because she knew it pissed him off.

"Granger, if I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times that I'm not a Death Eater. See, no dark mark." He pushed up his sleeve to show her his bare arm.

"I bet Voldemort secretly wore pink knickers," she joked. Draco just rolled his eyes and tried to get the conversion off the topic of You-Know-Who and Death Eaters.

"Speaking of knickers," he nodded toward a popular lingerie store and started walking toward it.

"Oh no," said Hermione. "This is where I draw the line. You are NOT going in there and start picking out my bras and knickers."

He gave her a sly look. "Fine, fine, have it your way. I'll just stay out here." Within two minutes, Draco was in the store fingering all the finery.

He crept up behind Hermione and whispered in her ear. "What size do you wear Granger?"

She turned around and slapped him in the arm. "That's none of your fucking business."

He smirked and said, "What if I want to buy you something very sexy and revealing sometime? What am I supposed to tell the clerk when she asks your size? 'Well, her tits are about the size of a bludger.'" He cupped his two hands over his chest.

With fire in her eyes, she punched him even harder. "You. Out. Now." She pointed to the exit.

"You're so fucking hot when you're pissed. I really ought to do it more often."

"You do it quite enough, thank you," she said. "Now get out of here before I make you a eunuch." Draco backed away from her toward with exit with his palms up in surrender. He still carried the smirk on his face.

"Men are such pigs," she mumbled to herself.

Going through the various sizes, styles and colors of lingerie, Hermione noticed a man kept glancing her way. She was a little uncomfortable, so she moved to the next table displaying bras.

The man looked familiar; he had dark wavy brown hair and dark chocolate eyes that one could get lost in. His smile was blinding. He was wearing a white Henley shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He also wore a perfectly faded pair of tight jeans and brown leather boots. He was dripping sex.

The man followed her to the other table. "Excusa me, Meess," the man said in a thick accent. "Do you prefer the hooks in front or in back?" She looked back at him curiously and raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"No, no, no. You not understand. I'm helping my seester in choosing ladies'…unmentionables. She's in the dressing room now, you see."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "If you don't mind me saying so, you look familiar. Have me met before?"

"Ah, surely I would have remembered a beauty such as you." He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. "My name is Stefan."

His lips lingered a little longer than Hermione was comfortable with. He looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye. "And what did the gods name the angel that stands before me?"

A faint blush was creeping up her face. "Her…Hermione."

"Hermione," he repeated. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman." He picked up her left hand to study it.

"Ah, no ring. My day is getting better with every moment," said Stefan.

Draco came from around the corner and grabbed her left hand away from the stranger. "And your day is about to get a lot fucking worse."

Stefan smiled and bowed his head. "Excusa me. I meant no disrespect."

Blaise, Luna and Caroline saw them from outside and went into the store to see what was going on. Blaise strode over to the threesome and put his hand on the stranger's shoulder.

"Still using that fake Italian accent to pick up women, Stefan?"

Stefan turned around and grinned like he just won the lottery. "Cousin!" He hugged Blaise fiercely. Blaise hugged him back with just as much enthusiasm.

All traces of the accent were gone. "You can't blame a guy for trying," said Stefan.

"No, but you can kill him," said Draco.

Caroline looked back and forth between the men. "Hey, you sort of look like my Blaise."

Stefan squatted down to her level. "Your Blaise, huh? What is your name, my pretty little princess?"

"My name is Caroline, and he's my Blaise," she said pointing to him. "I'm letting Luna borrow him until I get older and we can get married."

"Well, then, I'm pleased to meet the future Mrs. Caroline Zabini." He winked at her and kissed the back of her hand. "Let me be the first to welcome you to the family."

"Hands off, Romeo," said Draco as he grabbed his daughter and pulled her away.

"Don't sweat it, Draco. He's harmless." Blaise laughed and playfully punched his cousin in the arm. "Let's go find the nearest bar and catch up."

"Hey, what about me?" asked Caroline. "Can I go with you?"

"Not this time, Darlin'," said Blaise. "But when we're married I'll take you to as many bars as you want," he teased and kissed her on the top of her head. He grabbed Luna's hand and started to leave with his older cousin following.

"What about your sister?" Hermione called after them. She pointed toward the dressing rooms.

Stefan turned around and winked at her. "What seester?"

Hermione growled. "Men are such pigs."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I'm glad you liked the last chapter since it was a little on the light side. Now for some drama. I hope you don't hate Caroline after this one - she really doesn't know what she's saying. Once again, thank you for the wonderful reviews.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and Stefan) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 22

Draco was in Hermione's suite helping her put her new wardrobe in the huge walk-in closet/dressing room.

"No, no, no, Malfoy, that blouse goes here." She pointed to where she wanted it to go.

"But most of your blouses are over here," said Draco as he started to put the garment with the others like it.

"I don't sort my clothes like that." She grabbed the blouse out of his hands and put it where she thought it should go. "I sort my clothes by ROY G BIV."

"Who the hell is Roy, and what's he have to do with your clothes?" asked a confused Draco.

Hermione rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "ROY G BIV is not a person, you idiot. It stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. You know, the sequence of colors in rainbows. Or you might have heard it as 'Richard Of York Gave Battle in Vain'. But ROY G BIV is easier I think."

"Whatever. Put the clothes wherever you want, but I think that's the most anal, fucked up system I've ever heard of. Anyway, I have more interesting purchases to organize."

He grabbed one of the bags full of lingerie and started to pull out its contents to inspect them. "I suppose you're going to tell me that Victoria is not a real person either."

"What?" asked Hermione. She turned around to see what he was talking about and saw that he was referring to the bag the lingerie came in.

"You know, Victoria. The bitch with a secret. I wonder what that secret is." Draco pondered.

"Malfoy, there is no Victoria, and there is no secret. It's just the name of a store, I'm pretty sure."

"I've got it! Victoria is actually Victor and likes to dress up in women's lingerie," deduced Draco.

Hermione just shook her head. "You're mental."

"So, what's _your_ secret, Granger? Hmm?" He leaned back against the wall with his thumbs hooked into the front pockets of his jeans. "All women have secrets."

Hermione started to fold the bras, knickers, camisoles, and other lacy things and put them away in a drawer. "Yeah, like what, Mr. I-think-I-know-women-better-than-anyone?"

After a few moments of silence, Draco said, "Well, she could be hiding how many _lovers_ she's had, for instance." Hermione stopped what she was doing but didn't turn around. "Do I detect that I just hit a nerve?"

"No, it's not that. It's just none of your business." Hermione was really uncomfortable with the direction this conversation could end. "Let's just drop it."

But of course, Draco wasn't going to drop it. Speaking more to himself, he said, "Granger is getting a little pink in the face. I just wonder how many men have shared her bed." He thought teasing her about her past sexual experiences might be entertaining, so he continued.

"Just shut it, Malfoy." She hung her head and silently started counting to ten to calm herself down.

He slowly started to walk toward her, with her back still turned. "Hmm, she's getting a little defensive. Maybe she's had, say, a dozen lovers? No, I don't think Granger would be that slutty. Let's go with less than five. Yes, that's it, she can still count them on one hand," he teased.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy. " Her voice began to tremble, and she hated the way it sounded. This was a subject she didn't like to think about. It was too painful.

He was right behind her now. His breath warm against her ear. "Victor Krum? No, maybe some heavy snogging, but that's about it. Weasel? No, he was too busy fucking Lavender Brown." Hermione's breathing became faster the angrier she got.

"I know. That tosser named Zack…"

Hermione turned around and faced him with tears and anger in her eyes. "Do you want to know the truth, Malfoy? I'll tell you the truth." Her voice was getting louder and higher as she shoved him away from her.

"The one, and only, time I've had sex is when I was raped in the dungeons. Okay, there. I've said it. Are you happy now? The truth isn't so funny, is it?" By this time she was screaming in his face.

That declaration sucked the air right out of Draco. He covered his eyes with his palms. "Holy fucking Merlin. I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" She stormed out of the room and headed towards Caroline's suite. Draco started to chase after her. "Where are you going?"

Before she reached Caroline's door, she turned around to face Draco. Her voice was eerily calm. "I'm going to help Caroline pack her things, because we're moving back home tonight. We never should have moved in here in the first place. It was a big mistake."

Draco grabbed her arm. She twisted it around to get away from him, but he was too strong. "Listen, Granger, I'm sorry. I'm being a jackass. Please don't go. Let's talk about this first."

She finally twisted her way out of his hold. Her strength surprised him. "Do you know that I haven't been able to be intimate with a man since that night? Do you know that I actually vomited on a man for kissing me once? Do you know that you're the only man who has been able to touch me without me wanting to puke? And you're the one who raped me. How fucked up is that?" Rage was boiling inside her. She felt she was ready to explode.

Even though her words stung him, Draco raised his hands to cup her face. "Please, Granger. Calm down and we can talk about this."

She swatted his hands away. "Don't touch me. I don't want to calm down. I'm just another conquest for you, so why do you care if I stay or go?" She entered Caroline's room and slammed the door in his face.

He thumped his head against the wall. "Because I love you," he whispered.

*****

Caroline came out of her bathroom when she heard all the yelling and door slamming. "What's going on?" She was holding her dragon in one arm and the lion in the other. The symbolism wasn't lost on Hermione.

"Caroline, it's time for us to go home. I think we've overstayed our welcome here." She was trying to control her sniffling and the urge to burst into tears.

"Maybe you've overstayed your welcome, but I sure haven't." She really didn't know what that meant, but she really wanted to stay there.

"Yes, we both have. Now we need to start packing your things," said Hermione.

"Noooo! I don't want to go, and you can't make me." The four-year old stomped her foot a couple of times for emphasis.

"Caroline, I'm really not in the mood for your attitude right now. So, please, be a good girl and start gathering the things you want to take with you." Hermione opened up a suitcase and started to throw Caroline's clothes in it.

The curly-haired girl stomped her feet once more. "No, no, no, no, no! This is my home now."

*****

Draco heard them yelling as he stood in the hallway.

He knew if he would walk in that room, things would get worse. Slowly, he walked down the stairs with his head hung low.

Narcissa was sitting in her favorite chair sipping tea, _The Daily Prophet_ in her hands. "Draco, your new editor is doing a fantastic job…" She saw his dejected look as took a seat across from her. "What's wrong?"

He put his head in his hands and leaned on his knees. "I fucked up. I pissed Granger off, and now she and Caroline are leaving."

"They're what! Tell me what happened," demanded Narcissa.

"Well, Granger and I were engaged in some playful banter, so I thought. But somehow things got ugly, and now she and Caroline are packing."

She sat her tea cup and saucer down – not too gently. "Dammit Draco, you've got to stop her. After all the trouble I went through to get them to stay here, I'm not going to let you piss it away with some silly argument." Her bright blue eyes were blazing at him.

Draco lifted his head. "Wait, back up. What do you mean 'After all the trouble' you went through to get them to stay here?"

She lowered her gaze. She took a deep breath and waited for her son to solve the puzzle. She knew it wouldn't take him long.

Realization hit him like a bludger. "Her house! You had her house vandalized, didn't you? You trashed it so that she would be too afraid to stay there, so therefore, she and Caroline would move into the Manor. Didn't you?" By this time he was almost in her face.

The blond witch slowly nodded her head." I didn't physically do it, but yes, I'm the one behind it."

"Who actually did it, Mother?" He was ready to throttle her. She sighed once again.

"It was Pansy. I paid Pansy to you know…" She was so ashamed, she couldn't even say it.

"Parkinson?"

"How many witches named Pansy do you know, Draco? Yes, Pansy was just supposed to toss around a few cushions, mess things up a bit, but I'm afraid she went a little too far."

"A little too far?" His voice was getting louder and louder. "She trashed everything and wrote 'mudblood bitch' on the wall, for fuck's sake."

Hanging her head, Narcissa started to sob. "I just wanted all of us to live together and be a family. I wanted to be with my granddaughter. Is that too much to ask?"

"I think this would fall under the category of being extreme. Don't you think, Mother?" He walked over to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink. He downed it and poured another. Looking at the glass, he threw it against the wall, and it shattered into a thousand pieces.

Feeling ashamed of herself, Narcissa put her hands over her face and continued to sob. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Draco looked down at his mother with great disappointment. "I'm not the one whom you should ask to forgive you."

*****

Blaise and Stefan flooed into the Malfoy fireplace. Luna had to go back to the hospital. They stepped out of the fireplace and brushed the soot off their clothes. Blaise clapped his hands once and said, "Hey, what's for dinner? We're starving."

"Now is not a good time, Blaise," Draco warned. "We're kind of busy at the moment."

Draco was scowling, Narcissa was still sobbing, and you could hear Hermione and Caroline screaming at each other as they came down the stairs. The place was in total chaos.

Stefan looked around amusement. "Wow, this feels just like home."

Caroline ran up to her father and hugged his knees. "Please, Daddy, don't let her take me away from here." Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Please, make her stop."

Draco crouched down to her level. "Don't worry, Cupcake, everything will work out fine. I promise. We just had a little misunderstanding, that's all."

"Then tell her you're sorry, so we can stay." Her breath hitched as she cried.

Hermione walked over to where Narcissa was sitting. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I think it's time for us to leave."

Narcissa shook her head. "Please stay. There's something I must tell you." Tears were still streaming down her face.

"Now is definitely not the time, Mother."

Hermione looked back and forth between them. "Tell me what?"

"Mother, don't you dare."

"She needs to know the truth." Narcissa stood up and started wringing her hands. "Well…I'm the one responsible for the damage caused to your home. I really wanted you and Caroline to stay here so we could all be together. I'm terribly sorry for my misjudgment."

Hermione looked at her gobsmacked. She blinked a couple of times and hauled off and slapped Narcissa across her face. "You bitch. Once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy. You lot will never change. Now I'm certain that taking my daughter away from your influence is the right thing to do." She looked at both Draco and Narcissa and shook her head. Narcissa sat back down and started to sob in her hands again.

Blaise and Stefan were leaning against the bar taking it all in. They were having their own conversation as the fighting continued.

"Who's the weeping blond?" Stefan said nodding toward Narcissa.

"That's Draco's mother, Narcissa."

"Narcissa, hmm? She's looks pretty tasty," said Stefan.

"Don't get any ideas, Stefan," Blaise warned. "If you go anywhere near her, Draco will break your wand in two, and I'm not talking about the one you carry in your hand."

"Ouch!" said Stefan as he turned around and pour himself another drink. "Well then, what about Hermione? She looks pretty hot when she's pissed. Just imagine what that passion could do under the sheets." He wagged his eyebrows.

"You'll want to especially stay away from her. Draco's very protective of her, and he doesn't like to share."

"Sounds like a real bastard."

"Hey, forget about her. If a good fuck is all you want, I can hook you up with a couple of witches I know."

Stefan clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "You never disappoint, cousin."

They both turned when they heard Caroline screaming.

"Let go of me. I don't want to gooooo."

"Granger, let her be. She can stay here until we figure this out," said Draco.

"There's nothing to figure out, Malfoy. She's coming with me."

Hermione had a hold of Caroline's wrist and was pulling her toward the fireplace so they could floo home. Caroline was resisting with everything she had.

"No, please Mummy, let go of me. I want to stay here with Nana and Daddy."

"Caroline, quit being so difficult. Now come on," yelled Hermione.

The little girl tried to wrench her mother's fingers off her wrist. She pounded on Hermione's hand to release her. Tears were flowing down her face as she screamed in a high pitched voice.

"Let go, let go, let go of me, you filthy mudblood!"

Hermione let go of her wrist as if it she was being burned. Silence filled the room, with the exception of the old grandfather clock ticking in the background. Everyone in the room looked at Caroline in shock.

Hermione looked over at Draco, her heart breaking in two. In a very pained voice she said, "You must be proud of yourself, Malfoy. You've taught her to be just like you."

Then she stepped into the fireplace alone and flooed away.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Wow, what a response to the last chapter. Sorry to upset so many of you. Caroline just had herself an old-fashioned hissy fit. I promise things will look up. :)

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and Stefan) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 23

Hermione woke up with a headache caused by her crying for hours. She felt semi-rested until she remembered the events that led her there. The hurt came crashing down on her so fast, she was unable to breathe. She curled up in a fetal position and rocked herself to sleep once again.

The next time she awoke, she was very disoriented. She was not in her cottage, but at the Burrow. She vaguely remembered going there instead of her home. She knew Malfoy wouldn't follow her to the Burrow.

Holding a cup of tea, Ginny sat on the edge of the bed. "It's about time you joined the living, 'Mione. Here, drink this. It will make you feel better."

Hermione gave her friend a faint smile and took the cup and saucer. "Thanks, Ginny. How long have I been out?"

"I'd say on and off for almost three days. You took quite an emotional hit from what I heard. Malfoy filled us in. Believe it or not, the prat has been very worried about you."

"I don't know what to believe anymore." Hermione gripped her stomach. The pain was still there but not as strong. "Oh, Gin. How did things get so messed up? I thought we were getting along fine, and then Malfoy had to be an arse, and I had to go ballistic on him about the rape. I didn't realize I was still so angry about that. And then there is Caroline…"

"Look, you move back to London, you run into your worst enemy, you have a car accident and almost die, you find out your worst enemy is the father of your child, your house gets vandalized, and your father dies. Who wouldn't go ballistic? You've been through a lot these past few months. I think you're entitled to blow your top. I'm surprised you haven't done it sooner."

"Maybe so, but I feel bad for Caroline. She doesn't know what's going on. I've dragged her through all of this."

"Listen, don't feel guilty. You're not responsible for all of Caroline's behavior. Malfoy had a big hand in this. Plus, she's old enough to know better. However, I don't think she realized what she called you was such a bad word."

"After everything that's gone on, I miss her so much," said Hermione with tears in her eyes.

Ginny smiled at her friend. "Well, you're in luck, because there is a certain little blond-haired girl that's wanted to see you. Do you feel up to it?"

"I don't know. How do I look?" Hermione was worried that she would scare Caroline by the way she looked since she hadn't taken care of herself for days.

"You look like shit," said Ginny. "But I don't think she'll care."

"So Malfoy brought Caroline here?"

"Are you kidding? He wouldn't step foot on this property if he knew what was good for him. No, Luna brought her."

Caroline appeared at the door hesitating to go in. "Come on, Caroline. Your mummy wants to see you," Ginny said as she turned and left the room.

The little girl timidly walked toward her mother. She had her hand behind her back carrying a bouquet of daisies. When she got up to Hermione, she thrust the flowers at her.

"Here, I brought these for you," said Caroline. Her bottom lip started to quiver, and her blue-gray eyes were starting to mist over.

Hermione took the flowers and smelled them. She gave her daughter a little smile. "Thank you. They're lovely."

After a few beats of silence, Caroline broke down and cried. She flung herself at Hermione. "Oh, Mummy, I'm so sorry for calling you that bad name."

Hugging her daughter, she said, "It's not entirely your fault. Your father shouldn't have used that word around you."

"Oh, but I didn't hear it from him. I heard that Pansy lady say it." Hermione looked at her in surprise. "After you left, Daddy ripped me a new one. His face got all red, and he started yelling. He punished me too. My bum is still sore."

Hermione gasped. "He didn't hit you or spank you, did he?"

"Oh, no. He was going to but Blaise stopped him. He said if Daddy hit me, he'd be no better than Lucius, whoever he is. My bum is sore because Daddy made me stay in the time-out chair for two whole days."

Hermione's lips turned up a little at the image in her head. "And he took away my dragon and my new lion. I'm not allowed to play with them. He put them into 'toy jail,' and I can't have them back until he says so." Her lower lip jutted out a bit in a pout.

"Did your father explain why what you said was so bad?"

"Uh, huh. He said that word hurt you a lot." She laid her hands on Hermione's chest just above the left breast.

"What are you doing?" asked Hermione.

"Daddy said I broke your heart, so I'm fixing it," explained Caroline. "I want you to love me again, 'cuz I sure love you."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Caroline and kissed her on the top of her head. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"When are we going to move back home?" asked Caroline.

Hermione looked at her confused. "I thought you said Malfoy Manor was your home now."

"Silly Mummy. My home is wherever you are."

*****

Mrs. Weasley was baking a chocolate cake and promised Caroline that she could lick the bowl. "Gotta go, Mummy. I got dibs on the spoon. I need to hurry before Fred and George beat me to it."

"Well, don't let me stand in your way, you little chocolate fiend," smiled Hermione. She gave her daughter another bone-crushing hug.

As soon as Caroline left, Ginny came back into the room holding a stack of letters. She tossed them on the bed next to Hermione.

"Here is your fan mail. Malfoy's been owling you non-stop since you've arrived. I hope you answer him soon, because we're going broke just giving his owl all the owl treats," said Ginny.

Hermione groaned. "I don't think I can handle him at the moment. I'll just save these for later."

"Oh, and there are a couple of letters from Hogwarts. I know what one of them is, because we all got one just like it. It's an invitation to the Hogwarts Annual Alumni Ball coming up soon." Ginny squealed a little. "It will be so much fun to see everyone again. Just like old times."

"Ugh. I'll pass," said Hermione. "Sounds like torture to me."

"Oh, come on, you. We need to get you out of the house and have some fun. Luna and I can't wait. We're going shopping for gowns tomorrow, and you're coming with us. No arguments."

Hermione groaned again and fell back on the bed covering her eyes. "What's the other letter from Hogwarts say?"

"Don't know. Do you want me to open it?" Ginny ripped open the envelope before Hermione gave her permission.

"Oh, wow. Professor Dumbledore wants to meet with you to discuss an open faculty position at Hogwarts. He wants to meet with you today!" Ginny grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her off the bed. "You need to take a shower and get ready."

"I don't know, Gin…"

"At least talk to him. That wouldn't hurt, would it?"

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Hermione felt like a student again as she faced the Headmaster across from his massive desk. They had been catching up for the past half hour. She immediately felt comfortable around the old wizard and didn't realize, until then, that she missed Hogwarts very much.

"Well, Hermione, what do you think of my proposition? We can provide you and Caroline an apartment here at Hogwarts, or you can choose to live off-campus. I think you would make an excellent member of the Hogwarts faculty. The position of Professor of Muggle Studies is yours for the taking." He looked at her over his half-moon glasses and smiled.

"I appreciate your confidence in me, Professor. This is quite unexpected. I'd like to take a couple of days to think it over, if that's okay."

"Of course. The next term doesn't start until January, so we have a little time yet. It's been a while since you've been here. Would you like a little tour to see some of the renovations we've made since the war?" He stood up and offered her his arm.

"I'd love to, Professor. Being back here brings back so many memories."

They walked down the corridors chatting like old friends. Dumbledore was a little disappointed that Hermione didn't bring Caroline with her. He knew Mrs. Norris would like to see the little girl as well, since they bonded the last time she was there. He was looking forward to the time when Caroline would be old enough to be a student.

The library was just up ahead. Hermione gasped when she saw the large plaque over the door.

'The H.J. Granger Library'

"What in Merlin's name? How?" Hermione was stunned to say the least. Opening the door, they stepped inside to find a fully rebuilt library with leather chairs and couches, and beautiful oak tables and chairs. The collection of books was magnificent. She couldn't remember the library having so many old and new beautiful books. She was in heaven.

"A curious thing really," said Dumbledore. "The library was in shambles as a result of the war. A generous donor came forward and gave us the money to rebuild the library – with the stipulation that it be named after you."

"Who was the donor?" asked Hermione.

"That's the curious thing. The donor wished to remain anonymous."

"Anonymous? Don't you have any idea who did this?"

"Oh, I have my theories, but alas, no one has come forward to claim responsibility. I'm sure it will be revealed in due time." He looked down at her with a twinkle in his eye.

Hermione bit her lower lip, deep in thought. Harry. It had to be Harry. He was the only one of her friends that would have enough money to do such a thing. She wasn't going to confront him just yet. She would wait until he was ready to fess up. A big smile appeared on her face, and for the first time in a long time, she felt truly happy.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

At Madam Malkin's, Ginny and Luna were trying on gowns while Hermione watched with Caroline in her lap. Luna wanted Blaise there to give his input also. So he figured if he had to suffer, he would drag his cousin along for company.

"Come on, 'Mione, you've got to try on this gown. It was made for you," whined Ginny. She and Luna were doing their best to try to convince Hermione that she should go to the Ball.

"If I try on the dress, will you two leave me alone?" Hermione stood and took the dress to the dressing room. A few moments later, Hermione emerged in a beautiful floor length gown.

Her two friends had picked out the perfect dress – it was a deep purple, sleeveless dress with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline. The bodice was fitted and pleated. Below the bust line, two tightly fitted pleated bands and met at the center creating an empire waist.

Caroline was first to break the silence. "Oh, Mummy, you look beautiful - just like a real princess."

Luna noticed Blaise was staring at Hermione. She jokily put her hands over Blaise's eyes. "Hey, that's enough looking."

"Wait a minute," Blaise protested. "Just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean I can't read the menu."

"Just as long as you don't taste, I don't have a problem with that," she laughed.

As soon as Stefan put his tongue back into his mouth, he said, "Va-va-voom! Wow, you look good enough to eat." Blaise elbowed him in the side. "Sorry about that. What I meant to say is…"

"Never mind what you meant to say. I'm sure it was probably something just as vulgar," joked Blaise.

Stefan laughed. "Yeah, probably."

Ginny put her hands on her hips and said, "Can we pick out a dress, or can we pick out a dress? You look fantastic, Hermione."

Hermione wasn't used to all the attention and started to blush. She was especially self-conscious by the way Stefan and Blaise were looking at her. She felt as if she was going to be their next meal. Though, she had to admit that she felt really sexy in that gown.

Luna put her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "No more arguments – you are going to the Ball, even if we have to _Imperio_ you." She looked at Blaise and whispered, "Now, you have to convince Draco to go to the Ball as well."

Caroline heard Luna's comment and pulled Blaise aside. "Yeah, you have to make Daddy go to the Ball too."

"I do, do I? And why do I have to do that?"

"Because the Ball is where the Prince and the Princess fall in love. Everybody knows that. Duh!"

"I hate to break it to you, Darlin', but life isn't always a fairytale."

She pointed to herself. "It is for me. You and me are getting married just as soon as I'm old enough. Just you wait and see."

Blaise threw his head back and laughed. "You've got everything figured out, don't you?"

"You bet your broomstick I do."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I meant to post this earlier, but I couldn't decide whether or not to include the first part about the mirror. I was going to put it in the last chapter, but decided to take it out, because I thought it was a little bit too much. But then I thought, what the heck, I'll include it anyway in this chapter. Thanks for taking the time to review and sticking with this story.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and Stefan) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 24

After the girls tried on their gowns, Caroline asked the clerk if she would bring out the magic mirror.

"Mummy, you gotta see me when I'm grown up." The clerk moved the dial on the mirror for 15 years, and Caroline stood in front of it once again. The mirror warped and the image of a grown up Caroline appeared. She started dancing in front of it like she did before.

Luna, Ginny and Hermione stood there in shock. "Wow, she's gorgeous," said Luna.

"That's my little girl?" asked Hermione. "All of a sudden I feel really old."

"Hey, Blaise, why don't you step in front of the mirror?" asked Caroline. He stepped in front of the mirror as his older image came into focus. He looked pretty much the same. He had on glasses and his hair was graying at the temples. He just looked like a wiser and more mature Blaise.

"Move over, Caroline. Let Luna see what she would look like." Caroline moved over to the side and Luna walked up to the mirror.

When Luna looked into the mirror, nothing was there. She did not see an image of herself in the future. She saw nothing. The room got quiet.

"Why can't Luna see herself?" asked Caroline as she stepped back in front of the mirror.

"It doesn't mean anything, Caroline," said Ginny. "It's just a stupid mirror." But everyone knew what the implications were.

Blaise put his arms around Luna. "Don't worry. Like Ginny says, it's just a silly mirror. It can't really see the future. It's just a novelty for entertainment only."

Oblivious to the mood in the room, Caroline went back to shaking her booty in front of the mirror. Immediately the mood lifted and everyone was smiling again watching Caroline.

Something caught Stefan's eye so he moved closer to the mirror. "Be still, princess. I want to see your hand." He looked at Caroline's hand in the mirror and tapped Blaise on the arm for him to look as well.

Blaise looked at her left hand in the mirror and paled. Stefan whispered, "Isn't that Grandmother Zabini's engagement ring?"

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

"No, Blaise, I'm not going to the Ball and that's final. I didn't like my classmates when I was a student there, and I certainly don't want to see them now." They were in Draco's study sipping firewhiskey. At first they were discussing business, but then the subject got personal.

"What about Granger? Ginny and Luna talked her into going," said Blaise.

"Well, good for Granger. That bint won't even answer my owls. She still hates me."

Blaise lit another cigarette. "What about how you feel about her? Have you told her?"

"Not in so many words…" Draco leaned back in his chair and swallowed what was left of his drink.

"So you're telling me that you sent her all those owls, and not once mentioned how you feel about her?"

Draco just shrugged. "You know how I am with that stuff. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve."

"Then you deserve everything you get, Malfoy. She's a smart and beautiful witch that's not going to be single for long. If she gets swept off her feet by another wizard, then you have no one to blame but yourself. It will serve you right."

*****

Caroline was standing outside her father's study waiting for Blaise to come out. "Well? Is he going to the Ball?"

"Sorry, Darlin', but your old man is pretty stubborn." He hated to see the disappointment on her face. "But I do have an idea."

He crouched down to her level and started whispering in her year. She put her hand over her mouth and giggled.

"Now are you going to remember all that?" asked Blaise.

Caroline nodded making her curls bounce. "Sure, no problem. But what does that mean anyway?"

"You don't need to know that right now. Your dad will know."

"Will I get in trouble again for saying that? I don't want to do time-out again."

"Don't worry; you won't get time-out for this. If anything, I'll get in trouble." Blaise reassured her.

She giggled again. "Maybe we can do time-out together."

He just smiled down at her and patted her on the head. "Now, just remember what I've told you. Do you think you can handle that?"

She nodded and gave him the thumbs-up.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

The Great Hall was decorated marvelously – similar to the Yule Ball, but on a grander scale. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the night's sky. Lit candles were floating around the perimeter of the room. Four ice sculptures – one for each house – was elegantly carved and lit with their respective house colors. They were placed at the four corners of the Great Hall. Several champagne fountains were situated around the room. It was truly magical in all senses of the word.

A band at the front of the hall was playing all genres of music, including muggle music. There was already quite a crowd on the dance floor when the group arrived. Harry had ministry business to finish up, so he would come later. Ginny, Luna and Hermione walked in together, with Blaise and Stefan following.

Pansy saw the group and noticing a newcomer, sashayed over to them. "Ohh, Blaise, who is this hunk of wizard that you brought with you?" Even though it was relatively early in the evening, Pansy had a good start with the champagne.

Blaise turned to her. "This is my cousin, Stefan. Pansy, Stefan, Stefan, Pansy," he said in a quick introduction. Pansy gave Stefan one of her biggest smiles, until she looked behind him to see Ginny, Luna and Hermione.

"Blaisie," she said in a high pitched voice. "What are you doing with these three skanks - a lunatic, a blood-traitor and worst of all a mudblood?"

"Gee, I don't know, Pansy, maybe because I've traded up to a higher class of friends. Oh, and by the way, the lunatic and I are dating." He grabbed Luna by the waist and pulled her closer to him.

Pansy frowned at him and then turned to Stefan. "What about you, Steffie? You look like the kind of man that would associate more with a woman who's more stylish, elegant, intelligent and beautiful." She leaned in close to him and put her hand on his chest while looking seductively into his eyes.

"Oh, absolutely," said Stefan innocently. "Can you introduce me to one?

Pansy stepped back and narrowed her eyes at him.

Hermione snickered behind him.

Pansy smirked and looked at Hermione. "Oh, mudblood, did you like how I redecorated your house?"

Hermione looked at her in surprise. She should have known that Narcissa wouldn't actually dirty her hands. She pulled her wand out and pointed it at Pansy. "How would you like me to redecorate your face? It would definitely be an improvement."

Blaise grabbed Hermione's arm. "Don't bother. Draco's already taken care of her."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Pansy.

"That means, my dear Pansy, you should enjoy this evening because after tomorrow's _Daily Prophet_ comes out, you won't want to show your face in the wizarding community. There's going to be an interesting article about how your father squandered away your family's money by gambling. You pissed Draco off one too many times."

"He wouldn't dare! I'll sue," she said in a huff.

"Bring it on, bitch," said Blaise with his thousand-watt smile. The group turned and left Pansy standing there with steam coming out of her ears.

*****

The music played on as Hermione sat alone at the table. Several of her former classmates asked her to dance, but she declined them all. Cormac McLaggan saw her from across the room and approached the table. Hermione groaned as he came closer.

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione. Wow, you look incredible. How about we get reacquainted?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her up against him. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist and looked down at her cleavage.

Hermione's stomach lurched and her skin crawled as he touched her. "If you want to keep those hands, you'd better get them off me," she warned as she tried to pull away.

"You always did play hard to get. I like that in a witch," he growled in her ear. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but his grip was too strong.

Stefan was standing near one of the tables with a champagne fountain talking to a cute blond witch when he looked over and saw the distressed look on Hermione's face. He excused himself and made his way over to her.

Cormac started dragging her toward the dance floor when Stefan strode up to them. "Is there a problem, darling?" he said to Hermione.

"The lady and I were just about to dance," said Cormac smugly.

Stefan put both arms around Hermione's waist and kissed her on the cheek. He looked at Cormac with a deathly stare. "Sorry, mate, but her dance card is full." He then guided Hermione away.

As soon as they were a safe distance from the dance floor, Stefan let go of her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you for getting me away from the jerk. He was a prat when we were in school, and he hasn't changed a bit."

"Well, since I did you a favor, you can reciprocate," said Stefan.

"Oh and how do you propose I do that?" she asked cautiously. She wasn't sure she could trust him still.

"You can introduce me to those two lovely ladies over there." He was looking over at the Patil twins.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, you." And she walked toward the twins with Stefan in tow.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

Draco was watching Caroline at the Manor while Hermione was at the Ball. He and Narcissa were in the sitting room reading. He was reading a financial newspaper, while she was reading the more recent gossiping news.

Caroline was lying on the floor playing with her lion and dragon that Draco recently released from 'toy jail'.

She let out an over-exaggerated loud sigh. "Gee, I wish I was old enough to go to the ball." She was making the lion bounce on her stomach as she lay on the floor.

"You're not missing much," said Draco behind his newspaper.

"But I'd like to dress up like a princess just like Mummy. You should have seen her in her long purple dress. It was real flowy and sparkling and pretty." She looked up at her father for any type of response. There was none.

"Yeah, she looked really pretty." Caroline continued. "Stefan especially liked how she looked. He kept staring at her boobs 'cus you could see them a little over the top."

Draco looked at her over his paper but didn't say anything. He could hear Narcissa slightly snickering behind her magazine.

"Yeah, Stefan said she looked good enough to eat."

Draco lowered his paper a little more. "What did you say?"

"He said he was going to eat her," said Caroline. "Then he said he was going to get a kitty cat later that night."

"A kitty cat?"

Caroline thought a moment. She was getting what Blaise told her a little confused. "No, I mean he was going to get a pussy cat. Yeah, a pussy cat, that's it."

"A pussy cat? Caroline, did he actually say the word 'cat'?"

She looked up and tapped her finger on her chin. "Nope. He just said pussy. Yeah, that's it. He was going to get some pussy."

"Mother, watch Caroline. I've got some balls to bust at the Ball." Draco apparated to his bedroom faster than his newspaper could hit the ground.

Narcissa lowered her magazine and smiled at Caroline.

Caroline smirked back.

Narcissa nodded her head approvingly at the little girl. "Well, done, Caroline. Well done."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: As always, I appreciate your feedback and encouragement. Sorry to tease you about the mirror in the last chapter. I'll just say that everything is not as it seems and leave it at that. Yes, I know I'm evil. To be honest with you, I had not intended this story to be so long. But Caroline made me continue, that nasty little girl. ;) So you tell me, how long is too long? I don't want you all to get bored with Caroline or the story.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline and Stefan) belong to JKR. _At Last_ by Etta James.

*****

Chapter 25

The Great Hall was filled with hundreds of people, yet Hermione felt lonely. Something or someone was missing, and she felt empty.

Getting up from the table, she looked around to see couples and groups of people having fun. Even Ron, that wanker, looked like he was enjoying himself with Lavender on his arm. Feeling a bit melancholy, she decided to leave and walk around a bit. As she left the Great Hall, Harry was coming in from a long day at the Ministry.

"What's up, Hermione? Leaving so soon?" asked Harry.

"It's a little hot in there, so I'm just going to walk around a bit," she smiled sadly at him. He could tell something wasn't right, but couldn't put his finger on it. She just seemed…unhappy.

"Okay, but remember that we're all meeting in the astronomy tower at midnight to see the fireworks. Fred and George promise to put on a good show," said Harry.

"Sure, Harry. I'll be there." She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Hermione meandered throughout the halls and was pulled toward the library like a magnet. She could still hear the music coming from the Great Hall. She looked at her name on the plaque and shivered. Since her days at Hogwarts, the library was a sanctuary for her. Now was no different. She opened the door and slowly walked into the massive library.

The first thing she noticed was the warmth of the place. It felt like home. The smell of books gave her comfort and immediately lifted her spirits.

She let her fingers run over the spines of some of the books as she picked out her favorite, _Hogwarts: a History_. She never tired of the massive volume.

Kicking off her shoes, she sat down on one of the leather couches with her feet tucked under her and started to read.

*****

Draco, dressed to the nines, opened the huge double doors to the Great Hall. He scanned the crowd searching for Hermione – or Stefan. Clutching his wand tightly in his hand, he entered the room and headed toward a familiar face.

Stefan was sitting with the Patil twins, one on each side. Stefan must have said something funny, because all three were laughing. All of a sudden, Stefan stopped laughing when he felt the tip of a wand at the back of his neck. He turned around and to find the deathly, ice-cold stare of one Draco Malfoy.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your head off. Where is she?" hissed Draco. "What have you done with her?"

Both Padma and Parvati inched their way away from Stefan. There was no way they were going to be around the angry blond when he looked like that. Stefan looked at him like he was crazy. "First, lower your wand. Second, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Granger," Draco said through gritted teeth. "I heard all about your plans with her, you low-life sack of shit."

Blaise rushed over to diffuse a possible tragic situation. He grabbed Draco's arm and pulled it down. "Hold on, Draco. Stefan is innocent in all this."

Both Draco and Stefan looked at Blaise waiting for his explanation. Draco raised his wand once again. "Innocent my arse," said Draco. "Caroline told me all about what your cousin's plans are for Granger tonight."

"Well, about that, you see, um…" Blaise lowered his head with his hands in his pockets.

"Spit it out, Blaise," said an impatient Draco.

"Yeah, cousin, what have you done now?" asked Stefan with his hands on his hips.

"Caroline was so unhappy that you weren't coming to the Ball, so I thought you needed a little push. I kind of told her what to say," admitted Blaise.

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean to tell me you coached my daughter on what to say to get me here?"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? You're here and that's what counts."

"Making my daughter say that Stefan was going to get some pussy from Granger is going a little too far, don't you think?" Draco ground out.

"What? Did you really tell her say that, Blaise? She's just a little girl. She doesn't know what that means. And to hang your own cousin out there like that, I can't believe you'd do such a thing. I could have gotten killed by your lunatic friend."

"Okay, maybe I used bad judgment," said Blaise hanging his head. "No harm, no foul, right? Draco's here at the Ball, and Stefan is still alive with all his bits. I'd say that's a success, wouldn't you? The ends justify the means – it's the Slytherin way."

Stefan looked at him with disappointment. "It might be the Slytherin way, but it's definitely not the family way." He turned and left the group. Luna looked at Blaise and shook her head. She, too, turned around and left.

"Aw, wait you guys. I'm sorry…"

Harry and Ginny saw the heated discussion and walked over. "What's going on here?"

"Granger," said Draco. "Have you seen her?"

"Yeah, she left about an hour ago. Said she was going to walk around a bit. I don't know where though," said Harry.

"You guys are so clueless. Where is the one place you could always find Hermione when she wanted to be alone?" Ginny flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms and looked pointedly at Draco.

He nodded at her in understanding and turned to leave with his robes billowing behind him.

*****

When Hermione fell asleep on her side on the leather sofa, the book she was reading fell to the carpeted floor. A shadow crept closer to her and a pale hand reached to the floor to pick up the book. He tossed the book on a nearby chair and sat on the coffee table with his arms leaning on his knees.

And he watched her sleep.

Caroline was wrong. Her mother wasn't pretty. She was beautiful. Her hair was in a half up-do with curls cascading down her back. There were little purple flowers shattered throughout her hair. He reached over and touched one of the curls. He pulled it down and released it so it would spring back to its original state. There were a few loose strands covering her face, so he tucked them behind her ear.

The gown. The gown was molded to her body and was real 'flowy and sparkly' just like Caroline said. He picked up one of the layers of the deep purple fabric and ran it through his fingers. He couldn't help but want to touch her, even though she would probably wake up. Lightly tracing the top of her bodice with his finger, she gasped awake.

A little disoriented at first, Hermione blinked a few times before the blond man in front of her came into focus. She sat up and adjusted her dress.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

"I wasn't going to come to this shin-dig, but Blaise and _your_ daughter manipulated me into coming."

"My daughter? Manipulated? How?" asked Hermione.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," said Draco. "But I will admit I fell for it hook, line and sinker, so it worked," he chuckled.

They looked at each other in a few moments of silence. They both began to speak at once. Hermione closed her mouth and nodded at him to go first.

"Look, I'm sorry for being such a huge pain in the arse. I'm an insensitive clod and should have known better than to provoke you with your past. Sometimes I just don't know when to quit."

"Even though you are an insufferable pain in the arse, I shouldn't have let my temper get to me. I had no right to go off on you like that," she said.

"Oh, I think you had every right. I deserved much worse." He stood and offered her his hand to help her stand up.

Draco lifted her chin with his finger. "You look so beautiful tonight," he whispered.

She snorted. "You're the only man that has told me that while actually looking into my eyes. The other pigs are more interested what is below my neck."

He looked down at her cleavage. "You've got to admit, those are pretty impressive," he said with a half smile.

She playfully batted his arm. "All you men are the same - only interested in one thing."

"Actually two. They do come as a pair, am I right?" he smirked.

She growled. "You're so infuriating." She walked toward one of the tables and straightened a couple books. "You waltz into my library…"

"Oh ho, your library is it?" He walked toward her with a knowing smile. "Well, I guess that is your name on the plaque by the front door." He smirked again.

She suddenly got the hint. "Wait a minute. You? You were the one who donated all the money to fix the library?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It's no wonder you're the brightest witch of your age."

"But why? Why name it after me?"

He walked closer to her and reached out and put his hands on her waist. His voice was so low, she had to strain to hear him.

"Why wouldn't I name it after the woman I love, Hermione?" His eyes were boring into hers with such intensity that it literally took her breath away.

She was speechless for once in her life. She stared at him with her mouth slightly open. Finally she came to her senses.

"This must be a dream. I don't know what shocks me more; the fact that you said you love me or you calling me by my first name."

"You're shocked? I can't believe I actually said that out loud." He walked her backward until her legs hit the edge of the table. He leaned into her and brushed his lips lightly against hers. He kissed her again, with more force, causing her to lean back on to the table.

"I still hate you, Malfoy," she breathed heavily, her eyes half-lidded.

"There's a fine line between love and hate, Granger. And I'm going to pull you to my side." He whispered in her ear causing her to shiver.

"Don't bet on it," she said as she pulled him on top of her. She was still breathing heavily, her chest was rising and falling at a fast pace. She reached up and pushed the fringe out of his eyes. This time she kissed him. She didn't know if it was lust she was feeling or something else, but she wanted closer contact with him.

Draco smirked down at her. "I'd like nothing more than to fuck you on this table, but first things first," he said as he pulled her upright. "I want to go back to the Great Hall and dance with the most beautiful woman at the Ball."

He laced his fingers with hers and started pulling her toward the door. "Wait," she said, "I forgot my shoes." They walked back over to the couch where she was sleeping before and found her shoes.

He lowered himself on one knee and put her shoes back on her feet. He caressed her legs while doing so. She cleared her throat and pulled him out of his thoughts. He smiled up at her. "I was just inspecting your legs to see if there were any scars from the burns," he said cheekily.

"Did they pass inspection?" she laughed.

"Oh, yes, most definitely. But just to make sure, I'll need to inspect them again later. And there are other parts of you I'll need to inspect as well." He wiggled his eyebrows as he grabbed her hand once again.

*****

Heads turned as Draco and Hermione walked into the Great Hall holding hands. Most people thought they were still bitter enemies and were shocked to see them come in together.

They walked toward the dance floor as the band started to play a slow song. Draco put one hand on her waist and clasped his other hand with hers. She put a hand on his shoulder, and they started slowly swaying to the music.

_At last  
My love has come along  
My lonely days are over  
And life is like a song_

People on the dance floor were staring at the couple and whispering to each other. "I can't believe what I'm seeing." "Don't they hate each other?" "Wow, look at the way he's looking at her." "That's pretty hot."

_Ohh yeah, yeah  
At last  
The skies above are blue  
My heart was wrapped up in clover  
The night I looked at you_

They ignored the stares and comments and just kept looking at each other – his gray eyes locked with her chocolate brown ones. No one else was in the room; it was just them. The rest of the world was shut out. They continued to slowly move around the dance floor. As they danced, other couples moved away to give them more room.

_I found a dream,  
__That I could speak to  
__A dream that I can call my own  
__I found a thrill to press my cheek to  
__A thrill that I have never known_

She smiled up at him, a genuine happy smile. At that moment, she felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She finally opened up her heart and realized that she was dancing with the man she loved. Her throat closed up, and a tear ran down her cheek. He smiled back at her and wiped the tear off with his lips.

_Ohh yeah, yeah  
__You smile, you smile  
Oh and then the spell was cast  
And here we are in heaven  
_  
He dipped her backwards so that her hair was barely touching the floor. Looking into her eyes he pulled her up and kissed her passionately on the lips. As he kissed her, she whispered, "I love you, too."

_For you are mine at last._

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Far, far away in a big mansion, a curly blond-haired girl slept snugly tucked in her bed. There was a smile on her face as she slept. Sighing deeply, she rolled over and hugged the toy lion and dragon close to her chest.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Thanks for your kind comments on the last chapter. I'm glad you like a litte fluff. Caroline isn't in this chapter, but she'll be back in the next one. Why didn't Luna see her reflection in the magic mirror before? Hint: the mirror can't see the future across the pond.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 26

Dumbledore opened all the dorms for the alumni in case they wanted to spend the night. He was concerned that some might imbibe too much and splinch trying to apparate home.

The Ball was winding down and groups and couples were making their way up to the astronomy tower to watch the fireworks. Hermione and Draco were lagging behind, his arm around her shoulder. A bottle of champagne and two glasses were clutched in his hand. All of a sudden, Draco spun her around and guided her in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going? Don't you want to see the fireworks?" asked Hermione.

Draco pushed her back against the stone wall and pressed his body next to hers. "Do you want to see fireworks? I'll show you fireworks," he growled in her ear as he took a nip. Feeling a chill that wasn't from the cold air, she gave just the smallest moan. Taking her hand into his, he led her toward the dungeons.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

Luna was acting somewhat odd toward Blaise all evening. He thought it was because of the incident with Caroline and Draco. He was sure things would smooth over after what he was going to do tonight.

"Blaise, we need to talk." She led him away from the group into a small corridor with benches.

"Yeah, there's something I need to talk to you about, too," said Blaise. He thought his bright smile and charm would woo Luna over. He was definitely smitten with the petite witch.

"You go first," said Luna nervously.

Blaise shook his head. "No, ladies first. I insist."

Luna sat on one of the benches and clasped her hands in her lap. She was trying to find the right words to say to him. He sat down next to her, waiting for her to speak.

"Blaise, you know I care about you, right?" She didn't wait for his answer. "We've had fun and a bunch of laughs these past few months. I really enjoy spending time with you."

"Why do I have a feeling there's a 'but' in here?" He looked at her cautiously.

Glancing down to the floor, she said, "I'm leaving, Blaise." She couldn't look at him.

"What?? Look at me, Luna." He pulled her chin up so that their eyes met. There was sadness in hers and disbelief in his. "This is about me manipulating Draco using Caroline, isn't it?"

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes a little. "No Blaise, it's nothing petty like that."

"Then why? Why are you leaving me?"

"I'm not leaving you, per se. I'm leaving London. There's something missing. I need something more meaningful in my life."

"Do you think what we have is meaningless? Luna, I really care about you, more than I have anyone else."

Luna chuckled. "Come on, Blaise. You and I both know I'm just the flavor of the month. We have good sex…"

"Great sex," he interrupted with a smirk.

"Okay, great sex. But I need more than that. I want my life to mean more than just a few laughs and a good shag."

"What are you saying, Luna? You have a meaningful life here, good friends, good job…"

"But no purpose, Blaise. I've been given a chance to make a difference. I've been asked to help out in New Orleans. The wizarding community there is still struggling to rebuild. They need healers, mostly healers for children. It's an opportunity I just can't say 'no' to."

Blaise's eyes lit up. "I'll go with you. I can help in some way."

"No, Blaise. Your place is here. Draco and Malfoy Enterprises would be lost without you. This is something I need to do on my own." She lightly touched his cheek as she saw the disappointment in his eyes.

Blaise stood up and started to pace. His hand was in his pocket fingering a small velvet box. The other hand was going through his hair.

"I can't believe you're throwing what we have away. I thought what we had was more than a good shag and a few laughs. I thought we could have a real future together. But I guess I was wrong." He stormed off toward the astronomy tower clutching the small velvet box in his pocket. Luna hung her head and silently cried.

There were a lot of people milling around at the top of the tower waiting for the fireworks to start. Blaise walk over to the edge of the tower and took the small velvet box from his pocket. He opened it and looked reflectively at his late grandmother's engagement ring. It was a gorgeous diamond and emerald ring that would have been perfect on Luna's finger. He snapped the box closed, pulled back his arm and threw the box as far as he could toward the Quidditch pitch. It disappeared into the darkness.

Stefan saw Blaise throw something off the tower and walked over to him. "What was that?"

"Nothing," said Blaise sadly. "Just a stupid, meaningless idea I had."

************************************************************************************************************************************************

"So this is what the Slytherin common room looks like. This place is ghastly; no wonder Slytherins are so mean. Not a very friendly place, now is it?" Hermione was looking around at the foreign common room. It was so cold and uninviting, she shivered and hugged herself.

Draco put his arms around Hermione to warm her up. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. If you ignore the iron maiden in the corner, the chains on the walls and the skulls all around, it can be quite cozy."

Hermione snickered. "Even Martha Stewart couldn't help this place."

"Who's Martha Stewart?" Draco asked.

"Never mind." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

He grabbed her hand and led her up a staircase which led to the boys' dormitories. At the end of the hall Draco opened a door to a single private room. The room itself was not cold like the common room. A fire was already lit in the fireplace. In addition to the fireplace, the room had a huge four-poster bed, a nightstand, a desk and chair, a wardrobe, and a sofa along with a few other pieces of small furniture.

Hermione looked around in awe. "You had your own room? This is really nice."

"Sometimes being a Malfoy does have its privileges." He walked over to the window and threw open the drapes. Hermione walked up and leaned against the window sill.

"It's a beautiful night. Look at the moon," she said. Popping open the bottle of champagne, Draco poured each of them a glass.

"I spent many nights looking out this window wondering where you were or what you were doing. Do you know that I had a crush on you since fourth year?" He put his hands on either side of her on the sill, trapping her.

"You sure had a strange way of showing it." They both gazed out the window and saw the first fireworks in the air.

"How about I show you now?" He turned her to face him and ran his hands up and down her arms. The urge to take her right then and there was strong. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He had waited too long; he wasn't going to mess this night up.

Reaching up to her hair, he pulled the pins and combs out of it so that if flowed freely around her shoulders. It had a wild, tousled look that he loved.

"There's my lioness," he growled. His hands combed through her hair and grabbed a fist full of curls. He lowered his lips so that they lightly touched hers. Her lips tasted like champagne. This kiss felt different than the ones before. The electricity was felt by both of them as the kiss became more urgent. The fireworks outside started to gain momentum.

He reached around her to find the zipper of her gown as he moved his lips down to nibble on her collarbone. Turning around, she lifted her hair so that he could reach the zipper on the back of her gown.

She shivered as he slowly unzipped her dress. With the back open, he pushed the gown down, and pulled her close against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck, he nuzzled her hair out of his way.

"Granger," he sighed, "You have too much fucking hair."

She laughed. "How about I shave it off?"

"Don't you dare. I need something to grab on to when we make love." He nuzzled some more, and she hummed as he continued to attack her neck. His hands travelled up her stomach and cupped her breasts covered in black lace, lightly massaging them.

At this point all she had on was a black strapless lace bra with matching knickers. He turned her around and pushed her on to the bed. He stood there and stared down at her for a few moments. Like the fireworks outside, his heart was exploding inside his chest.

"So exquisite." He continued to stare at her as he undid his tie and started to unbutton his shirt. She watched him and licked her lips as he undressed. Reaching up, she helped him take off his shirt. Her hands ran up and down his smooth chest. She was able to really admire his unclothed body for the first time.

When it came to his trousers, she unbuttoned the top and pulled down his zipper. She did not expect the surprise that was awaiting her. He had gone commando that night.

Wide-eyed she stared at him and gulped. "How is _that_ going to fit?" She inched away from him as he crawled closer on the satin sheets.

"Listen, you were able to squeeze a kid out of there, so relax, I'm going to fit," he chuckled. The fact that he 'fit' before wasn't something he was going to mention. He had learned his lesson not to bring up the past – at least not _that_ past.

With two fingers, he reached on either side of her knickers and began to pull them down. He kissed her thigh, up to her hip and then her tummy. There was something else there between her legs that he would have liked to kiss, but he knew she wasn't ready for that yet. The sounds she was making was turning him on even more.

He reached her bra and unclasped the front open. Running his hands up her sides, he palmed her breasts and lowered his mouth to one of them. Tilting her head back, she moaned. Her fingers wove through his silky blond hair pulling him closer to her. He kissed his way back up to her throat and pressed his whole body next to hers. She loved the feel of his skin and couldn't get close enough to him.

He reached over her to the nightstand and picked up his wand. Waving it over her stomach, he muttered a contraception spell.

"We don't want to give Caroline a baby brother just yet."

Settling between her thighs he pressed his lips to hers in one long agonizing kiss. Her heart was beating so fast the sound drowned out the noise of the fireworks. He looked into her eyes, cupping her face. As he slowly entered her, she let out a loud gasp.

"Oh, gods," she moaned. "Don't…" She couldn't complete her thoughts, let alone her sentence.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. "Do you want me to stop?" In his head he was pleading, 'please don't ask me to stop' because he didn't think he could if he wanted to. She felt so good, so tight, and so right.

She shook her head. "Don't…" She moved her hips urging him to go on. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."

He gave her one of his rare heartwarming smiles. "Anything you say, love." The way he was looking at her, and the way he was making her feel that that moment was indescribable.

The fireworks outside their window paled in comparison to what was going on inside that room. They moved in concert with each other, his lips never leaving hers. As his thrusting increased she wrapped her legs around his waist urging him in deeper. He looked down and saw the rapture in her face and thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He sensed her climax getting nearer so he thrust faster and harder. She was definitely a loud one and that urged him on even more.

All of sudden she reached her pinnacle, arched her back and screamed, "DRACOOOOO!" Fireworks were exploding outside reaching the finale and fireworks were going off in her head. She couldn't distinguish between the two.

Feeling her inner walls clamp down on him and hearing her scream his name sent him over the edge as well. "Oh, gods. Hermione," he groaned as he collapsed on top of her kissing her neck and jaw line. He started to roll off her thinking he was crushing her, but she held onto him tightly.

"You're not going anywhere," she laughed as she planted little kisses all over his face. She had tears in her eyes that started to fall.

He brushed away her tears with the pads of this thumbs. "What's wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She shook her head back and forth. "That was so intense. I'm just a little overwhelmed is all."

He looked down at her and gave her a wicked smile. "That was just the appetizer. When I'm done with you tonight, you won't even know your first name," he said huskily.

She involuntarily shivered at the thought. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered in his ear. "Bring it on."


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: I'm glad you liked a little lemon in the last chapter. Thanks for continuing to read the story. I was going to post this chapter earlier, but we went out of town for the weekend. Sorry about posting later than usual.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 27

With the nastiest of hangovers, Blaise woke up in his old dorm room. There were two empty bottles of firewhiskey on the floor by his bed. He rolled over and pulled the blond-haired woman next to him tighter.

"Mmm, Luna. I had the worst nightmare," he said. His eyes were still closed as he ran his hand up and down her thigh.

The blond turned to face him. "Who's Luna?"

Blaise's eyes flew open. Lying next to him was a pretty blond witch, with her pale blue eyes looking curiously at him. She definitely wasn't Luna. He sat up suddenly wishing he hadn't. His head was spinning and he felt like he was going to get sick. He looked down at himself and was relieved to see that he was fully clothed.

"Um, we didn't, you know…did we?"

"No, Blaise. We didn't have sex. You passed out in the common room so I used a levitation charm and brought you here." Blaise blew out a sigh of relief.

"Thank Merlin. What is your name anyway?" He turned and took a vial of hangover potion off the nightstand. He started to drink the liquid.

"Caroline," she said. He quickly spit out the potion and started coughing.

Luna came to the Slytherin common room looking for Blaise. She didn't want to leave on bad terms with him and wanted to make amends. She climbed the stairs up to the boys' dormitories, but she didn't know which room was his.

That is, until a petite blond witch came out of one of the rooms and called behind her. "I'll see you later, Blaise. Thanks for the interesting evening." She passed Luna and headed down the stairs.

Luna walked to the door which was slightly ajar. She peeked in and saw Blaise sitting at the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

"Well, I see you didn't waste much time finding my replacement." Blaise's head snapped up at her voice.

Blaise got up too fast and started to sway. He grabbed on to the bedpost for stability. "Luna, wait. Whatever you think happened here last night, didn't happen. I passed out and was levitated to my room."

"As weird as it sounds, I believe you, Blaise. I came by because I don't want to leave with any bad feelings between us."

"I just don't understand it. One minute everything's great between us, and then all of a sudden, you're moving away to find something more meaningful." He used air quotes when he said 'meaningful.' His voice softened. "Come on, talk to me."

"Blaise, I really like you." She sat down on the edge of his bed. "But I think things were getting too serious. You said last night you thought we'd have a future together. Think about it, do you honestly believe that? You can't just change your ways just in a couple of months. If we stayed together, you'd be sick of me within a year and want to move on. I don't blame you for that. That's just the way you're wired. I just don't want to get hurt."

He was silent as he digested her words. As bad as it sounded, she was right. He had to ask himself some hard questions and answer honestly.

Did he like Luna?

Yes, most definitely.

Did he love Luna?

Not really sure about that one. But he really, really liked her. Was it love? Maybe.

Could he imagine spending the rest of his life with her?

Honestly? No.

He then realized that Luna did him a favor last night. He could have made a huge mistake by asking her to marry him. But the way she sounded, she wouldn't have accepted anyway.

"Luna, you are fucking amazing. You're absolutely right about everything. So what are we?"

"I think it's called Friends with Benefits." She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"I like that. But damn, I'm going to miss that chair." He was referring to Luna's tantra chair. They used it quite regularly.

"Well, you'll just have to visit me in New Orleans," she said with a wink.

"You can count in it." He stretched and got up from the bed, still a little unsteady. "Well, friend, I think I'm going to take a shower. Would you like to join me?"

"That's the best offer I've had all day."

************************************************************************************

Draco woke up, the sunlight shining through the window in his eyes. Lying next to him was Hermione, still naked, half her body on top of his. She was lightly snoring to his amusement. He twirled a strand of her curls around his finger. With a groan she rolled over so that her back was facing him. He wrapped his arm around her and nuzzled her hair.

"Wakey, wakey, Granger," he whispered in her ear. He pressed his body closer to hers.

Half asleep, she mumbled, "Go away, Malfoy." She tried lazily to bat his hand away from her breast.

"Wake up, my little sugarplum," he said tauntingly. "Daddy wants to play." He wiggled his erection against her bum.

She groaned again. "Quit poking me with that thing."

"You didn't mind me poking you with that thing earlier," he teased.

"Give your libido a rest. I need some sleep." She rolled on her stomach and almost fell back asleep.

The night was an active one. When she told him to 'Bring it on' he didn't hold back. The first time they made love it was sweet and affectionate. The next four times it was fast, furious and passionate. Their aggressive lovemaking left the room in shambles. He was impressed that she kept up as well as she did. But she was paying for it now.

He slapped her hard on her bottom. "Oww, that hurts."

"Get up, lazy bones. We have a busy day ahead of us," said Draco.

She lifted her head and pushed her unruly hair from her face so that she could look at him. "Busy day doing what?"

He massaged the red mark on her bum where he slapped her. He lightly fingered her curves and rubbed his hand up her back up to her neck.

"There are many places in this castle that we have yet to explore, my dear Granger…empty classrooms, broom closets, bathrooms…"

"You're crazy."

"Crazy for you, love," he said as he picked her up bridal style, took her into the bathroom and kicked the door closed behind them. He waved his wand and turned on the faucets to the bath. All of a sudden she wasn't so tired anymore.

Gently placing her in the tub, he got in next to her. He pulled her leg up over his waist and proceeded to devour her with his lips. He couldn't get enough of her, and she loved being ravished. Even though it was a pretty large tub, they were splashing more water out of it than keeping in.

Hermione was on top of Draco when he held her face in his hands and looked in her eyes with a serious expression.

"Marry me," he said.

"What?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You heard me. Marry me."

"I'm not marrying you," she laughed. She ran her fingers through his wet hair.

"Why not? He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

"Are you crazy? Because it's too soon. We just got together."

"No, it's not. We've known each other for years. Maybe not on the best of terms all the time…" said Draco.

"That's an understatement."

"You know my faults, not that I have many, and I know yours. We love each other in spite of that. Why not?"

"Do you honestly think I'd want to spend the rest of my life with an egotistical, manipulative, pig- headed, insufferable wizard?" she asked.

"Yes," he said simply with a smirk.

"I. am. not. marrying. you."

"You do know that by the end of the day, you'll say yes. I'll wear you down, Granger."

As Hermione was about to reply, someone knocked on the outside door.

Draco lifted her off of him and begrudgingly got out of the tub, toweled himself off a bit and put on a pair of silk boxers.

Marcus Flint was banging on the door. "What do you want, Flint. I've very busy."

"Yeah, I can see that," he said with a smirk. "We're playing a game Quidditch against the Griffendorks in about an hour, and we need a seeker."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I haven't played Quidditch in years."

"What? Are you afraid that Potter's going to beat your arse once again?"

"What time do you want me on the pitch?"

*****

After he got rid of Flint, he turned his attention back to Hermione, who got out of the tub and was drying herself off.

He pushed her against the wall and said, "Now where were we?" He captured one of her ears between his teeth, and she whimpered.

There was another knock at the door.

"Draco, are you in there? It's your mother," Narcissa called out.

"Shit," he hissed. "What the fuck does she want?"

He left the bathroom and opened the outer door just when Narcissa was about to knock again. He stood in the doorway trying to block her view. At first he didn't notice Caroline standing next to her. He looked down at the little girl who was grinning up at him.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" he asked with his hands on his hips.

"Did we interrupt something, Draco?" She smirked as she knew full well that she was interrupting something.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you were. Now what are you two doing here?"

Caroline looked around her father and noticed the room. "Wow, Daddy, your room sure is messy. What's Mummy's bra doing way up there?" She was pointing to one of the bedposts on the corner of his bed. "Why are clothes everywhere? And why is your hair wet? Did you just take a bath?" Draco ignored all her questions.

"Andromeda said there was a Quidditch match here today, and since Caroline has never been to one, I thought it would be something she would enjoy," explained Narcissa.

"But Mother, you hate Quidditch."

"Oh, I'm not going to stay for the game, I'm going shopping in Hogsmeade. I'm dropping Caroline off so you can take her."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Actually, I'll be playing. I just got talked into it."

"You play Quidditch, Daddy? Can you teach me?"

"Sure thing, Cupcake, but you'll need to learn how to fly a broom. Just don't tell your mother," he whispered. "She hates flying."

"Okie, dokie," said Caroline in a whisper and put a finger up to her lips.

"Alright, why don't you take her up for breakfast and we'll, I mean, I'll be there in a bit."

"Where's Mummy? I heard her voice." She pushed herself around Draco and searched for her mother. She was just about to enter the bathroom when Hermione came out, fully dressed.

"Hey, sweetheart," said Hermione. She scooped Caroline up and gave her a hug.

"Mummy! Your hair is all wet too. Did you take a bath like Daddy? I bet you took a bath together."

"Well, Hogwarts is going green, so we thought we'd conserve water," lied Hermione.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow and looked at Draco who just shrugged.

"Mummy, did you get to see the fireworks last night?"

"Oh, yes, we saw fireworks." Hermione looked at Draco with a knowing smile.

"Were they big fireworks?" Caroline waved her arms in a big circle and made exploding noises.

"Pretty big," said Hermione.

Draco cleared his throat.

"They were huge fireworks. Huge!" Hermione corrected.

"That's better," Draco mumbled.

"Aw, man, I wish I could have been here to see them," said a disappointed Caroline. "Maybe next time, huh?"

"Why don't you and Nana go upstairs to breakfast? We'll be there in a little bit," said Draco.

"But I've already had breakfast."

"You're a growing girl. It wouldn't hurt you to eat a second breakfast."

Narcissa and Caroline turned to leave. Narcissa turned back around.

"By the way, I suggest that in the future, you use a stronger silencing spell in your bathroom."


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: A big thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I appreciate it more than you know. You'll get a little more Caroline and Blaise interaction in this one. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 28

Hermione went ahead and joined Narcissa and Caroline for breakfast. About a half-hour later, Draco strode into the Great Hall wearing his Quidditch uniform. He spotted his three favorite women and straddled the bench where they were sitting. Caroline was sitting on her knees and leaning over the table on her elbows as usual. On her plate were two fried eggs and several strips of bacon making a smiley face.

Caroline took a big swig of milk that left a white mustache on her upper lip. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve much to the chagrin of Narcissa.

"Please use a napkin, Caroline." She handed a napkin to the little girl.

"What for? My sleeve is clean enough."

"Well, now it isn't," Narcissa said with a groan.

Hermione was giving Draco the once-over. The uniform fit him snugly in all the right places. Even though he had not played Quidditch for a few years, you would never know by looking at his body. It was still as toned and taut as ever, maybe even more so since his days at Hogwarts. Hermione wanted him…in a bad way.

"You want me, Granger?" Draco noticed the dark look in her eyes as she licked her lips. "I see you eye fucking me," he whispered in her ear so that no one else could hear.

She smirked up at him. "You wish." She turned around and continued to eat her breakfast.

"Yes, I do," he admitted. "Maybe you can help me celebrate our victory after the game."

"What if you don't win?" asked Hermione.

"Then you can 'comfort' me after our devastating loss. It's a win-win," he said with a crooked smile.

Caroline was gnawing on a piece of bacon. "Wow, cool costume, Daddy."

"It's a Quidditch uniform, Caroline."

"You look like a superhero. You know, like the cartoons. You fly around and beat up bad guys. Do you have a super power, Daddy?"

"Don't go there." Hermione gave him a warning look. The set up was too easy. He raised his eyebrows up once in a teasing manner and smiled.

Blaise was sitting across from them sniggering. Luna was anxious to go back to her packing so she left after their very long and very hot shower. Blaise promised to visit her that night so he could properly say good-bye to her…and the chair.

Ignoring all others at the table, Draco took both Hermione's hands into his and looked into her deep chocolate eyes.

"Marry me," he whispered. He then kissed each knuckle waiting for her answer.

"No," she said simply.

"Why not?"

"I'd have to be totally lacking any shred of sanity and completely out of my mind to say 'yes' to you."

"That, my love, can be arranged," he said huskily in her ear. She shivered because she knew it was true.

It wasn't really that she was opposed to marrying him, it was just she didn't want to marry him so soon. She thought the relationship was moving a little too fast for her comfort. There was no doubt he was rocking her world. But, she liked to see him sweat and was going to drag this out as long as she could.

Caroline interrupted their thoughts. "Teddy told me all about Quidditch. He said you were a seeker, and you had to catch the Golden Snatch."

Blaise choked on his coffee and laughed. "I think you already did that, didn't you Draco?" Now it was Draco's turn to give Blaise a warning look. But then he cracked a smile. Hermione looked at both of them in disgust, her face turning a light pink color.

Draco tried to straighten his face. "It's called a Golden Snitch, Cupcake, not a snatch."

"Then what's a snatch?" asked the innocent Caroline.

Narcissa didn't care for where this line of conversation was heading. "Let's just change the subject, shall we?"

Ignoring Narcissa's request, Blaise smiled at Caroline. "Let's just say, girls have them, boys don't."

"Zabini, you're not helping," Draco said with a scowl.

Caroline thought for a moment. "You mean like boobies?" She took a bite of her toast as she heard her grandmother gasp.

Blaise choked on his eggs and shook his head. "No, not those." By then several others at the table were now interested in their conversation.

"Caroline, that's enough," warned Hermione.

"Or, do you mean like a vagina?" Caroline dragged out the word, 'va-gi-na' and said it a little louder than necessary.

Narcissa gasped again and looked like she was about to pass out. Hermione put her hands over her face and wished the floor would swallow her up. Half the hall heard the little girl and started laughing and snickering. Draco just stared at his daughter with his mouth agape.

"Where did you hear that?"

"I saw it on television. South Park I think."

"What were you doing watching South Park?" Draco asked. He had never seen the show, and he doubted Hermione would let her watch it.

She pointed toward Blaise. "He let me watch it once." Blaise tried to hide his face with his hand and looked away.

"What are you doing corrupting my child?" scolded Hermione. "What were you thinking?"

"It was a cartoon," Blaise explained. "I didn't know it was so raunchy. I turned it off after I realized what type of show it was."

Oblivious to the adults' comments, Caroline continued. "And I know what the real word is for a doogee. It's called a pe…" Draco quickly clamped his hand over her mouth, scooped her up by the waist and started to leave.

"I think it's time we go. You've provided enough entertainment for the morning."

She started to wiggle and protest. "But I'm not finished." She still had one egg left on her plate and a half full glass of milk.

"Oh yes, you're more than finished." And he whisked her out the Great Hall with his green Quidditch robes billowing behind him.

*****

After breakfast, everyone was heading toward the pitch. It was very cold outside, so Hermione bundled Caroline up complete with mittens, hat and scarf. Gryfinndor's maroon and gold scarf, that is.

Draco gingerly removed the scarf and replaced it with a green and silver one. Hermione took the offending green and silver scarf off her daughter and wrapped the maroon and gold one around Caroline's neck once again. Draco took his scarf and wrapped it around Caroline's neck after he removed the maroon and gold one. This went on for several rounds. Caroline was getting sick of it, looked up at both of them, threw both scarves on the floor and stomped away.

"Keep your bloody scarves," she yelled over her shoulder as she left through the front doors following Blaise and Stefan.

"Why that little…" Draco started to say. He couldn't finish his sentence because Hermione wrapped her scarf around his neck and pulled him close to her. She silenced him by kissing him heatedly. Holding the scarf tightly, she wasn't about to let him go.

Forgetting all about Caroline, he grabbed Hermione's waist, pulled her close so that she molded into him and snogged her back within an inch of her life. Quidditch? What Quidditch?

After the few stragglers left the hall, Draco and Hermione finally realized they were the only ones left.

"You don't know how badly I want to take you into that broom closet over there," said Draco. His breathing was ragged.

"I know, but your public awaits," she teased as she led him outside grumbling.

"I don't think you realize how difficult it is to ride a broom with a hard-on."

"And you know this...how?" asked Hermione.

"Just a guess," said Draco with a shrug.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

*****

Caroline galloped ahead of Blaise and Stefan but kept within their sight. Stefan was trying to talk Blaise into going on a double-date with him and the Patel twins.

"I know how you prefer blondes, but this is just a date, Blaise."

"It's not that. It's just that I want to take a break from women, you know?"

"Not really, but whatever you want. Just let me know when you're horny enough to change your mind," said Stefan with a smirk.

Blaise rolled his eyes at his cousin and looked at Caroline just as she tripped and fell ahead of them. He and Stefan ran up to her to see if she was alright.

She was sitting on the ground hugging her knee. "Are you okay?" asked Blaise. He looked at her ripped jeans and blood coming from the wound. She wasn't crying, and she seemed more annoyed at ripping her jeans than concerned about her injury.

Blaise took out his wand and started to heal the wound.

"Stop," she said. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to fix your knee. What else would I be doing?"

"Leave it alone. I don't want you to heal it."

"Why not?" Blaise was confused.

"Because I won't be able to use my new Sponge Bob bandages if you fix my knee. I've been waiting a long time to use them."

Blaise looked up at Stefan and shook his head. "I'll never understand kids."

"I don't even attempt to," said Stefan.

Blaise turned back to Caroline. "Okay, I won't heal your knee, but let me at least get it covered until you get home and use your new bandages. Deal?"

"Oh, alright," said Caroline. "If you gotta."

"Come on," said Stefan. "We need to hurry up if we're going to get good seats."

After her knee was covered she ran ahead of the two wizards. She found a rock to kick on the way down to the pitch. But it was a strange looking rock.

She stopped kicking it and stooped down to take a better look. It wasn't a rock at all, but a small square velvet box. Blaise and Stefan walked up behind her, curious to see what she was looking at.

"What did you find there, Caroline?"asked Stefan.

"It's some kind of box," said Caroline. She took off her mittens, opened the box and gasped. In it was the engagement ring with emeralds and diamonds. "Look at this!"

She stood and showed the two men what she found.

"Isn't that Grandmother Zabini's engagement ring?" asked Stefan. "Is that what you threw off the astronomy tower last night?"

Blaise sighed and nodded.

Stefan looked back toward the astronomy tower. "Wow, you've got a good arm."

"So these are your family jewels?" asked Caroline. Stefan snorted.

"I guess you could say that," said Blaise.

"I always thought you kept those in your pants."

Stefan laughed. "Sometimes they need to come out for air."

"Shut up, Stefan," warned Blaise.

Caroline held out the box with the ring out to Blaise. "Here, you better put it back, so you don't lose it."

"No, you keep it," said Blaise.

"Oh, no. It doesn't belong to me." She then held out the box for Stefan to take.

He waved it away. "No way. I'm never getting engaged. You keep it. Finders keepers."

She looked down at the pretty ring. No, it wasn't just pretty, it was gorgeous. The gems sparkled in the sunlight. Many witches would give their eye teeth to have a ring like that.

"No, I can't keep it," she said. "It's too pretty, and it looks like it costs a lot of money. I might lose it."

Blaise knelt down to her level. She was wearing a gold necklace with a heart pendant. He unclasped the necklace and threaded chain through the ring. He then re-clasped it. The ring dangled next to the heart pendant.

"There, now you won't have to worry about losing it," said Blaise with a wink.

"Thanks, Blaise," said Caroline as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Does this mean we're engaged?"

"Absolutely not!" he laughed. "I'm never getting engaged or married for that matter."

"Mummy always says 'never say never'."

*****

"Never," said Hermione answering the question Draco asked for the fourth time that day. "I'll never marry you."

Draco and Hermione were one of the last ones to reach the pitch. He had his arm around her shoulder possessively. Hermione would never admit it to him, but she liked it.

"You will say 'yes' by the end of the night," Draco said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I have my ways."

That's what she was afraid of.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: When I started this story, I never in a million years thought it would get 1000 reviews. Thank you all for encouraging me to go on. I appreciate all your comments and questions. There seems to be a big interest in a real Blaise/Caroline relationship. Maybe in a sequel. But for now we need to get Hermione and Draco together, don't you think? But don't worry, Blaise and Caroline's shenanigans in this story aren't over yet.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 29

The game was about to start. Stefan and Blaise took Caroline up to the Slytherin side when they couldn't find Hermione. The little girl was so excited, she could hardly contain herself. Holding on to the railing in front of the bleachers, she kept bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Settle down, princess, you look like you have ants in your pants," laughed Stefan.

Caroline looked confused and took her mittens off. She parted her coat and looked into her pants. "Nope, just knickers."

Blaise snickered. "Just make sure your knickers are the only things in your pants, especially when you're older."

"Huh?" asked Caroline.

"Nevermind." Blaise shook his head.

Hermione looked all over for Caroline at the bottom, outside the pitch. She started to get concerned, chastising herself for not watching over her like she should have. She knew Tonks and Remus were bringing Teddy to the game, so maybe they had her. But Blaise and Stefan also were around when Caroline left the castle, so maybe she was still with them.

She decided to climb the steps to the Gryffindor side. Looking around, she spotted bright hair, half maroon and half gold. Even though she was a Hufflepuff, Tonks showed her support for Gryffindor. Hermione noticed there was no blond-haired girl with them.

"Have you seen Caroline?" asked Hermione. "I thought maybe she was up here with you."

"Sorry, Hermione, we haven't seen her up here. I think I saw her with Blaise and his cousin earlier."

Hermione looked over the railing to the other side of the pitch. She squinted to see if she could find her daughter.

The players were still warming up so the game hadn't started yet. Draco flew by Hermione in a flash but circled around when he saw her looking toward the other side. He steered his broom up to her and floated in front of the railing.

"What's wrong?" asked Draco. "It looks like you're looking for something or someone."

"That someone happens to be Caroline," Hermione explained. "I think maybe Blaise and Stefan have her on the Slytherin side."

"You stay put, I'll go over there to see if they have her." Draco flew over to the other side looking for two tall Italian wizards and a short little blond-haired witch. They shouldn't be too hard to spot.

He found the trio, Caroline jumping up at down at the railing. He flew up to them.

"Daddy! Wow, you fly really fast." She made zooming noises and demonstrated flying motions with her hands. "I can't wait until you teach me to fly."

"Your mother is looking for you. How about I take you for a little ride?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" she said jumping with each 'yes'.

He reached over and grabbed her by the waist and straddled her in front of him on the broom. He held one arm around her waist and the other on the handle. She held onto the broomstick with both hands, and they flew around the pitch.

The wind whipped through Caroline's hair that wasn't covered by her hat. She loved the feeling in her tummy as Draco flew around the pitch. She kept telling Draco to go faster and higher. She let out a big "Whoo hoo!!"

Harry saw the two and flew up to them. "Malfoy."

"Potter," said Draco just like he used to in school.

"Potter," said Caroline mimicking him.

Harry laughed. "I see you brought 'mini me' to help you. Merlin knows you'll need it."

Draco was about to say a friendly 'fuck off' but remembered his passenger.

So he decided to say something a little less crude. "Just be prepared to get your arse whipped, Potter."

"Yeah, you're gonna get your arse whipped, Potter," said Caroline.

Harry threw back his head and laughed. "Like father, like daughter. You're training her well, Malfoy."

Draco smiled and said sarcastically, "Well, I love to sit here and chat, but I've got a game to win." With that he turned his broom around and headed for the Gryffindor side.

He and Caroline flew up to the railing where Hermione was standing. He couldn't read the expression on her face as he handed Caroline to her over the railing.

"Did you see me, Mummy? I was flying!"

"Special delivery. You can tip me later," he said with a smirk.

Hermione leaned over and looked like she was about to kiss him. When she got close enough, she punched him hard on his arm.

"Are you crazy? Don't you ever do that again." With each word a punch came with it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, my little lioness. She was perfectly safe. There's no way I'd let her fall."

Hermione was about to lay into him again when he said, "Oops, gotta go." He winked at her and flew off before she could say another word.

*****

Crowds around Caroline were cheering each time the Gryffindor team scored. And each time they missed the goal or the Slytherin team scored, the crowd groaned. Caroline really didn't know the rules of the game, so she copied what everyone else was doing – cheering when they did and groaning with them as well.

The players were flying around fast but were not as competitive as they were back in school. Everyone was enjoying being back on broomsticks. Since this was a casual game just for fun, rules were not really followed. The score was 50 -50.

Draco noticed Caroline cheering with the Gryffindors and flew over to her. "You're cheering for the wrong side, Cupcake. You want the ones with the green uniforms to win."

"Oh, okay. I'll cheer for you from now on. Have you found the Golden Snitch yet, Daddy?"

"No, not yet. It's a sly bugger and will pop up with you least expect it." He then flew back around pitch.

Caroline continued to watch the game, now doing the opposite of the crowd around her. The Weasley twins teased her, calling her a traitor. Her response was to give them a raspberry. She would have given them the one-finger salute, but 1) her mum was watching and 2) her hands were cold, and she would have had to take off her mittens.

Draco was floating at one end of the pitch looking around hoping to spot the Snitch soon. The wind was picking up and the temperature was getting very cold. He could think of nothing better than to be sitting in front of a nice roaring fire with Hermione at his side and a glass of fire whiskey in his hand.

The gods must have been reading his mind because Draco suddenly spotted the Snitch. And it was hovering over Caroline.

A small bird or large insect, Caroline couldn't tell which, was flying around her head. She became annoyed and tried to bat it away from her face. Teddy looked over at his friend and saw the Snitch.

"Caroline, that's the Golden Snitch you're trying to hit," he said excitedly.

She looked up at the thing flitting above her head and gasped. "So that's what a Snitch looks like," she exclaimed. She reached up and tried to grab it, but it quickly shot away.

A few moments later, the Snitch was back, teasing Caroline. As soon as the Snitch was eye-level, she clapped her mittened hands together to try to catch it, and each time it would shoot up in the air making her miss just by a hair.

Draco saw his daughter trying to grab the Snitch and quickly flew over to her. The winged ball once again popped above Caroline's head. Timed just right, Draco swooped down was able to grab the Snitch in mid-air, just barely missing Caroline in the process.

The Slytherin side cheered as Draco flew around the pitch with the Snitch held above his head. The game was over.

Draco flew back over to Caroline and handed her the Snitch. "Thanks for your help," he said smiling down at her.

"You mean I helped you win the game?" asked Caroline.

"You sure did. We make a good team, don't you think?"

She smiled back and him and turned to show her mother her prize. "Are girls allowed to be Seekers? 'Cuz I want to be a Seeker when I grow up."

"Caroline, girls can be anything they want to be," said Hermione.

The little girl snorted. "Girls can't be fathers. Duh."

*****

Many alumni decided to stay an extra night since everyone was having such a good time. Narcissa picked up Caroline when she was finished shopping with Andromeda. She invited her sister and Teddy over to the Manor so the children could have some play time together.

Draco was sweaty from the game and knew just how he wanted to clean up. As soon as he and Hermione returned to the castle, they headed back to the dungeons.

No matter how much Draco tried to persuade her, she refused to take a shower with him. Finally, he'd had enough.

"Fine, Granger. If you don't want to take a shower with me, I won't take one either and will remain all sweaty and stinky. Your choice."

"Fine, Malfoy. If you don't take your shower, then you won't get your present," she said to him seductively. "Your choice."

"Present, huh?" He stripped right in front of her, went into the bathroom and took the fastest shower of his life.

He came out of the bathroom dripping wet with a towel around his waist. He pointed his wand at himself to dry off. Then he finally looked up and saw her.

Hermione was leaning back on his bed dressed in her school robes opened up the front. Underneath, she wore her school uniform complete with maroon striped tie. One leg crossed the other she gave him a 'come hither' look.

"Oh, gods," said Draco, his eyes darkening with each second. "You're making one of my fantasies come true. A little smart know-it-all Gryffindor lying on my bed ready to have her brains fucked out. Do you know how many times I've wanked off thinking about you like this?"

"Too much information, Malfoy."

He laughed and suddenly pounced on top of her. He went for her neck, biting and kissing until she screamed, laughing as she tried to wiggle from under him.

Laughing quickly turned to moaning and Draco ran his hand up her smooth thighs only to find that she wasn't wearing anything under her skirt. His fingers found what they were searching for, and she rolled her head back and moaned at their magic touch.

He looked down at her and smiled. "You like that, Granger?"

She was panting heavily. "Yes!"

With this other hand, he started to unbutton her blouse and kissed her stomach on his way up to her breasts. He was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't wearing a bra either.

"Do you want more?"

"Yes!" Her eyes were closed as his mouth latched on to one of her breasts. Her back arched and she ran her hands through his hair trying to pull him closer.

Her hips started bucking when he increased the speed of his hand between her legs. He kissed back up to her neck and jaw line.

"Do you want me?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said breathlessly.

"What do you want, my lioness? Do you want me inside you?"

"Yes!" She grabbed him around his neck and pressed her warm lips to his. The kiss was passionate and urgent.

He quickly took away his hand from her warmth and removed his towel. Without further hesitation, he plunged into her.

"Is this what you wanted, love?" he asked huskily in her ear.

"Yes!" They both were breathing so hard she could barely make out what he was saying. She hooked her legs around his waist.

"Do you want me to go faster?" he growled.

"Yes!" Her brains were beginning to scramble as she gave up trying to think. What he was doing felt so good, she didn't need to think. All she knew was that she didn't want him to stop. By the look on her face he could tell she was close and that made him thrust faster.

"Do you love me?" he asked panting.

"Yes!" He noticed she was just about ready to tip over the edge.

Just as she was climaxing, he asked, "Will you marry me?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Dracoooo." She screamed as her orgasm hit her hard.

Hearing her say 'yes' and screaming his name made him come hard as well.

As he was coming down from his high, his heart practically beating out of his chest, he kissed her tenderly.

"Oh, Hermione, I love you."

Her chocolate eyes flew open as she realized what she had happened. She tried to push him off her.

"You! You tricked me!" She slapped him on his chest, but he wasn't budging.

"I told you I'd get you to agree to marry me by the end of the day," he chuckled.

"No, no, no. That doesn't count."

"It certainly does count. Look at your left hand."

She looked down at her hand and saw the most stunning engagement ring she'd ever laid eyes on. It was a princess cut diamond set in platinum with small channel set diamonds on either side. The enchanted ring was glowing meaning it was a binding engagement.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Sorry, but there's no Caroline in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Again, my appreciation goes out to all of you who are following this story. You rock!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 30

After Hermione left the dungeons, she headed toward the library and ran into Ginny. She needed to vent, so poor Ginny was her sounding board. As they walked to the library, Hermione explained what happened.

"He what?" asked Ginny. She had a big grin on her face.

"You heard me. Quit smiling, Ginny. It's not funny. That low-down dirty Slytherin. I knew better, that's what makes me angry."

"I know you're irate with him for tricking you, but you've got to admit, the way he proposed was pretty HOT! Give him credit for being so creative."

"Are you daft? I've never been so humiliated in my life. You know I hate losing control like that, especially to Malfoy," said Hermione. "And the worst part is that I can't get this damn ring off my finger." She pulled on the ring with no results.

"You're the one who's daft. Who in their right mind would want to take such a stunning ring off their finger anyway? Hell, for a ring like that, I'd marry the git."

Hermione gave her friend a half-smile. "He knows that I'm furious with him. But I might be able to use this to my advantage. It might be fun to see him grovel."

"So you're going to go through with it?" asked Ginny.

"Of course, I have every intention of marrying him. I just wanted to do it on my terms. He's got some major sucking up to do. I'm going to continue to give him the silent treatment because I know that drives him crazy."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin."

*****

Not one to admit mistakes easily, Draco had a lot of thinking to do. He walked down the corridor with his hands in his pockets. He had really fucked up – figuratively and literally. His face still stung by the hard slap that Hermione gave him after she called him every name in the book. She stormed out of the room not uttering another word. That's what bothered him the most. The calm after the storm. The silent treatment. It drove him crazy.

He knew exactly where she was going - her little slice of heaven called the H.J. Granger Library. He needed to give her time to cool down and for him to clear his head, so he walked to Snape's workroom to check on the progress of his special project.

Snape was developing a special potion for Malfoy Enterprises that was like the fountain of youth. Women (or men) would add a drop of this potion in their tea each day, and they would watch the months or years melt away – depending on how much potion they used. Draco was going to make a fortune selling this new de-aging potion. Not that he needed the money; he just wanted to be part of an exciting new project that would change the wizarding world and make the Malfoy name a positive one in everyone's mind.

Snape had several red vials of the new potion sitting on a shelf ready to be tested. Next to these vials in various colors were hangover potion, headache potion, and pepperup potion. Since there were no classes over the holiday break, Snape had the time to replenish his stock.

Draco was pleased with the progress. After testing was done, the product would be ready for marketing to consumers in about six months.

"Now we need to find someone to test this," said Snape.

"Um, about that," Draco said. "We already have a subject."

"Explain." Snape looked at his godson and folded his arms.

"Well, I took some of your samples from last time and have been instructing one of our house elves to slip a drop in my mother's tea each morning."

Snape looked at him as if he had two heads. "You idiot! Those samples were nowhere near ready to test on a guinea pig, much less a human."

"Don't sweat it, Snape. She's perfectly fine. She's been primping in the mirror more than usual, so it must be working."

"Still, it's much too dangerous. I still don't know if there will be any side effects."

"So far she's fine. Why don't you come over for breakfast tomorrow morning and see for yourself." He knew Snape wouldn't turn down an invitation to see Narcissa. He didn't have a crush on her, per se, because that would be too juvenile. Let's just say he admired her.

"I just might do that. Just in the interest of science, of course," said Snape.

Draco smirked. "Of course."

*****

Blaise had other plans with a certain blond witch so he decided not to stay at Hogwarts for an extra night. Before he left, though, he needed to go down to the dungeons to find Snape.

"Zabini," drawled Snape. "Coming for more hangover potion I see."

"Well, you do make the best, Snape," said Draco said with a grin.

"And I have the empty vials to prove it," said Blaise.

Snape rolled his eyes. "When are you ever going to grow up, Zabini?"

"Hopefully not in my lifetime," he chuckled.

Snape nodded his head toward a set of shelves. "The green bottles over there. Help yourself. Don't touch the red ones. Those are experimental de-aging potions."

Blaise walked over to the shelf and grabbed a few bottles of the liquid and put them in his pocket. Not many people knew this, because it wasn't something Blaise liked to share, but he was partially colorblind and couldn't distinguish between red and green very well. So not realizing it, he picked up both red and green bottles. Neither Draco nor Snape took any notice.

"So how is the proposal going? Has she said 'yes' yet?" asked Blaise.

"She said 'yes' but now she's not talking to me."

"What did you do to piss her off this time?"

"I guess it was the method I used to get her to agree to marry me," said Draco.

Blaise laughed. "What did you do, ask her in the throes of passion and shag it out of her?" he joked.

Draco's eyes narrowed at him.

"You didn't. That really works? I guess you're still living up to your reputation as the Slytherin Sex God."

Snape just rolled his eyes. "I've got real work to do. Why don't you two take your bragging elsewhere?"

"We're out of here, Snape. I'll see you in the morning, right?" asked Draco.

Snape nodded and waved them away as he continued to work.

*****

Draco thought maybe enough time had passed, and went searching for Hermione. He had some major sucking up to do.

He found her exactly where he thought she would be. She was curled up on one of the leather couches in the library reading a book. A Muggle book by the looks of it.

"What are you reading?" asked Draco as he sat down on the couch.

She twisted away from him and turned a page.

He leaned over her to read the title. "_Alice in Wonderland_. What's that about?"

She continued to ignore him and turned another page.

Draco laid his chin on her shoulder and read silently along with her. She hated it when someone read over her shoulder, so she pushed him away with her elbow.

Undeterred, he put his chin on her shoulder again. She turned to him with a scowl on her face. He smiled back at her like the Cheshire Cat. She closed the book and smacked him on his forehead with it.

"Ow, shit, Granger. You don't have to be so violent." She reopened her book and continued to read.

He waved his wand over her book. The words of Lewis Carroll disappeared, and in its place were the words 'I'm sorry.' Hermione sighed and turned another page.

He cleared his throat. "Listen, it's not easy for me to say this, but I was wrong to do that to you. I mean, it wasn't wrong to make love to you, but it was wrong for me to ask you like that.

"I'm just like an impatient little boy. I have to get what I want right now. And right now I want you." She glanced at him sideways and then continued to read her book - although she wasn't doing much reading at all.

"I'm not good at this love stuff. I've never been in love. I don't know what 'in love' is supposed to mean anyway. All I know is that I constantly think about you. You're the only woman I've actually made love to instead of just shag senseless. And I want to make love to you every night for the rest of my life." Her heart skipped a beat. She glanced sideways at him again but still she said nothing.

"I want to wake up every morning and the first thing I see is your beautiful face. I know that sounds sappy, but it's true." He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

"I want to have more children with you. Only this time I'll be there the whole time. You don't know how I wish I could have back those four years with Caroline. I'd give away my vaults to be able to see her being born – to hold her in my arms when she was a baby." Hermione turned to him with softness in her eyes that wasn't there before.

"Forgive me?" asked Draco. He raised her chin up with his finger and lightly kissed her on the lips.

She didn't want to give him her forgiveness too easily. He needed to be put in his place. She looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Nice try, Malfoy. I'm not falling for your crap this time."

"Crap? What I just said was from the bottom of my heart."

"You don't have a heart, Malfoy."

"Ouch, that hurts. Okay, no more of this lovey dovey stuff."

"Good, because you really suck at it."

He stood up and grabbed her by the wrists. He pulled her into one of the aisles and pushed her hard against one of the shelves. He held both her wrists with one hand above her head.

"Okay, listen up, witch. You are the biggest pain in my arse. I don't know why I waste my time on you, because you drive me crazy," he growled. He nibbled at her earlobe as she moaned.

"I'm tired of these bullshit games. Are you going to marry me or not?" asked Draco.

"I have a few conditions," said Hermione. He let go of her arms.

"No conditions."

"Then my answer is no."

"Okay, what are your conditions?" he asked with his hands on his hips.

"First of all, I want a small wedding," said Hermione.

"That one's going to be tough. Malfoys don't do anything small."

"Second, I want Harry to be one of the groomsmen."

Draco looked around the library and shivered. "Gee it's cold in here. Hell must have frozen over. The answer to that one is a big 'NO'!"

"That's a deal breaker, Malfoy."

"Then forget it, Granger. You're not worth it." Draco turned and stormed down the aisle and around the corner.

Hermione folded her arms and tapped her foot. _Three, two, one…_

Draco came back around the corner and grabbed her by the waist. He pulled her close to him and crashed his lips against hers.

"You fucking bitch. You have me by the balls, and you know it," he grumbled.

She gave him a crooked smile. "Now that's the Malfoy we all know and love." She patted him on the cheek.

"I hate being played, Granger."

"Now you know how it feels." She brushed her lips against his in a teasing way.

"Touché, my love, touché," he said as he captured her lips and grabbed a fist full of her chestnut curls.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************

As promised, Blaise went over to Luna's to give her a proper goodbye. She hated to admit it, but she was having second thoughts. She scolded herself for thinking that way. She was going to move to New Orleans, and that's all there was to it.

Blaise was the most fantastic lover that she'd ever had. He knew his way around a woman's body like no one else. That's what she was going to miss…the way he made her feel.

She enjoyed the view as he got up from the bed, still naked, and walked toward the kitchen to get yet another bottle of champagne. Gods, he had a nice bum. He returned a few moments later, Luna still eyeing him.

"You see something you like?" asked Blaise with his brilliant smile.

"Oh, most definitely." She reached up took the champagne bottle from his hands and poured them each another drink. They clinked glasses and took a sip.

"Did you bring any hangover potion?" she asked. "I really don't want to wake up with a bad hangover before I have to leave. So I'd like some now, if that's okay."

"That's not a bad idea. I'll take some too." He reached over and grabbed two vials from his cloak that was lying on the floor. One was red and the other was green. He handed her one while he drank from the other. They each dropped the empty bottles on the floor and continued with their steamy evening.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: You are all way too clever. It was fun reading all your theories. I hope every has a very safe and Happy Halloween.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

******

Chapter 31

It was later in the morning than he thought. He was trying to remember everything that happened within the last 12 hours. They drank – a lot. Thank goodness they had the foresight to take some hangover potion. They fought, they made up, and they fought again, and made up again. The best part was the make-up sex. That was worth fighting for. Even though she wasn't as experienced as others had been, she had been the best. Everything was new for her; therefore it was new for him too. He felt he didn't deserve her.

With her arm stretched across his chest, the witch next to him started to wake up. He reached over and held her tighter. He didn't want to leave this bed; he would have been content to stay there all day.

"Morning," she mumbled. Feeling chilly, she grabbed the covers and snuggled in deeper next to Draco.

"Are you cold? I know a way to warm you up." He reached his hand between her legs.

"Don't you ever give it a rest?" she joked.

"Not with you around, you little minx." She felt his hot breath against her neck. "You really rev up my engines," he growled.

"I should get you one of those blow-up dolls so you'll leave me alone."

He snickered. "I already have one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Blaise got it for me as a joke. It has long brown curly hair. Kind of looks like you," he laughed.

She looked at him in surprise.

"Not really. I'm just messing with you." He made a mental note to magically change the doll's hair to any color but brown when he got home.

"So what other things do you have? No, don't answer that question. I don't want to know."

"Well, let's see. There are the various whips, handcuffs, gags, paddles…."

Her face paled. "You're messing with me again aren't you?"

"Don't worry, I won't use them all on you at one time." He laughed. He then noticed the concerned look on her face.

"I'm not worried about that," she said.

"Really? Is my lioness really into the kinky stuff?" he purred in her ear. He never in a million years thought she'd be the 'experimental' type. This could prove very interesting.

"No, I'm worried that Caroline will find it. She's very curious, you know."

"There's no way she'll find that stuff. It's well hidden. I can't even find things sometimes."

"Do you not know our daughter? If there is something she's not supposed to find, I guarantee she'll find it. She has kind of a sixth sense about that stuff."

"Relax, Granger. You're worrying over nothing. Even if she did find some things, which she won't, she wouldn't know what they were anyway. I don't even know what most of that stuff is. Most of them were gag gifts from Blaise."

"Yeah, likely story."

"Seriously, you need to relax. She won't find anything."

They looked into each other eyes uncertainly. Thinking the same thing, they both scrambled out of bed and got dressed quickly.

*****

"Teddy," Caroline yelled. "Come here. Look what I found!"

"Caroline, we're going to get into big trouble being in your dad's bedroom." He was always worrying that she would get them into trouble. But she was so bossy, he always went along.

"Don't worry. We're not going to break anything," Caroline reassured him. "Come here. I've got something to show you."

She led him into Draco's walk-in closet and got onto all fours. She then crawled in between a row of dress robes and behind a shelf full of shoes and opened a hidden door. Teddy was close on her heels.

When they entered the small sub-closet they came upon several boxes and a few gift bags with the name, 'Forbidden Treasure Toys of Pleasure.' Of course Caroline only read the word TOYS.

"Look, see? Toys!" Caroline squealed in delight.

"We shouldn't be here, Caroline. We need to go."

"Okay, we'll go in a minute. I want to see what's in those boxes."

Teddy frowned as Caroline opened one of the boxes. "What kind of toys are these? I've never seen toys like these before."

Caroline picked up a pair of handcuffs. Digging in deeper into the box, she pulled out some rope, a leather mask and a few other items that looked interesting.

"See? It's stuff to play cops and robbers. Do you want to be the cop or the robber?"

"Um, I guess I'll be the robber," answered Teddy. She threw the mask and rope to him and opened another box.

When she opened the box a blow-up doll started to self-inflate. It had brown curly hair.

"Wow! Look at this! A big dolly!" exclaimed Caroline.

"I've never seen a doll like that before. And why is it naked?"

"Don't know." Caroline shrugged. "We can get some clothes for her out of Mummy's closet. She can be your victim. I've seen all about this stuff on television. You rob her jewels and then tie her up and then I find you and arrest you." She held up the handcuffs.

"Where are you going to get the jewels?"

"I know! My nana has a bunch of jewelry. I'll go and grab some."

Teddy looked at her apprehensively. "I don't know, Caroline."

"Come on, it will be fun." She grabbed the doll and made Teddy carry some of the other items to her room. She went into the room that Hermione was staying in before and grabbed a dress from the closet. She then went into Narcissa's room and grabbed necklaces, rings, bracelets and a tiara in a variety of gems: diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies. She put them all in a pillowcase she took from one of Narcissa's pillows. After getting the doll dressed they proceeded to play cops and robbers.

*****

Blaise mumbled in his sleep and turned on to his side to put his arm around Luna. He loved the feel of her skin – so soft and smooth. He could run his hands over her body all day.

Half awake, Lune felt a warm hand moving up and down her body. Ordinarily she would welcome such maneuvers, but this morning it felt different. Something was off. She turned on her side to face him, her eyes still closed. She placed her hand on his chest and felt something smooth. Her hand patted up and down his body trying to feel something familiar – like the hair on his chest. There was none.

Blaise tried to snuggle closer to the blond witch. "Mmm, Luna."

She cautiously opened her eyes and stared at the brown eyes looking back at her. Her eyes took in the rest of his face and looked down his body.

She screamed.

Surprised by her screams, He bolted upright. "What the hell is wrong with you, woman?" His voice sounded odd.

Still at a loss for words, she pointed to his body. He looked down and saw the body of a boy. He looked at his arms and felt his face.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" He jumped off the bed, still with no clothes on, and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked more or less like he did when he was seven, as far as he could remember.

"Blaise?" asked Luna. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," he spat. "Who else shared your bed last night?"

He couldn't believe the image he saw in the mirror. A young Blaise, possibly six or seven years old looked back at him with a scowl.

All of a sudden he felt uncomfortable when Luna kept staring at him. He reached over to the bed, grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around his waist.

"What the hell are you looking at? And quit laughing. This is NOT funny!" he yelled at the giggling witch.

He noticed a vial lying on the floor by his side of the bed. He picked it up and shoved it at Luna.

"What color is this?"

"What?" asked Luna.

"I said what color is this?" he yelled a little louder.

"Red, of course. What color do you think it is?"

"Fucking Snape!" He threw the vial against the wall.

"What are you going on about?"

Blaise sat down on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. He was in deep shit.

"I accidentally picked up one of Snape's de-aging potions." Luna started laughing again. She reached over and pinched Blaise's cheek.

"You are so adorable," she said.

He slapped her hand away. "Knock it off, Luna. This isn't funny. Where's my wand?"

He picked up his clothes that were lying on the floor and started to put them on. The clothes were too big and swallowed him up. He grabbed his wand and tried to shrink his clothes, but nothing happened.

"Oh, no!" He groaned. "My magic is gone."

"Well, you are under-aged now, "Luna said logically, and she shrunk his clothes for him.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

Luna put on her dressing gown and hugged Blaise to comfort him. As he hugged her back, he grabbed her bum.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she slapped his hand away.

"Nothing I haven't done before, love."

"Don't do that anymore. It's kind of creepy. And don't call me 'love'."

"Hey, it's the same old Blaise here. Just a bit shorter, which might be to our advantage." He slipped his hand between the front openings of her robe and started rubbing her thigh.

She batted his hand away again. "Would you stop that? You little pervert."

"Just because I look like I'm seven doesn't mean I don't want to shag you." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"With what?" She put her hands on his hips.

He looked down at his crotch. "Good point," he said.

He sat back down on the bed and hung his head. "This really sucks."

*****

Draco and Hermione flooed back to the Manor. As soon as they stepped out of the fireplace, they heard a scream. Draco ran faster than Hermione taking two steps at a time up to the second floor.

Caroline was hovering over Narcissa patting her cheeks. "Nana fainted when she came in here and saw us playing cops and robbers."

The scene that Draco came upon shocked him. Teddy was handcuffed to one of the bedposts wearing one of the masks with eye holes cut out. He saw the blow up doll in one of Caroline's chairs dressed up in a red halter dress wearing the red fuck-me pumps that he bought Hermione. The doll was tied to up to one of the chairs that Caroline used for her tea parties - with a gag in its mouth.

"See, I told you that's we'd get into trouble, Caroline," said Teddy.

Narcissa stirred awake and immediately started into Draco when she saw him.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy! How dare you bring these… things…into my house? What kind of example are you setting for your child?"

"We're not going to get into trouble, Teddy," whispered Caroline. "It looks like Daddy's the one that's going to get into trouble."

Hermione looked around the room with her mouth agape. Along with the doll, other items such as whips, paddles, nipple clamps, ball gags, studded collars and blindfolds were scattered about. She was staying silent much too long for Draco's comfort.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked a Draco. "You told me the doll didn't have curly brown hair like mine."

Draco started to explain when Luna came up behind them with a little boy next to her. Blaise looked at the scene before him and started laughing.

"Finally getting some use out of the stuff I've gotten you, eh Draco?" asked Blaise.

They all looked at Luna and then the little Blaise.

"Luna, what are you doing here…and who is this little brat?" asked Draco.

"Um, well you see, we need your help." She looked down at the little boy. "This is Blaise."


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Thank you for still reviewing and making this your fav/alerts. This story is longer than I originally intended it to be. Thanks for still sticking with it. In case you're wondering, the story will probably not go past 40 chapters. Have a great week everyone.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

******

Chapter 32

Silence filled Caroline's room as they stared at the little Blaise. Then, as if the floodgates opened, everyone started talking or yelling at the same time. All but Caroline and Teddy, who were just thankful the attention was off of them for the moment.

"If you're Blaise, then I'm the Minister of Magic," said Draco.

"Okay, test me. Ask me something that only I would know," said Blaise mockingly.

Draco folded his arms over his chest and thought for a moment. "Okay, what did you do when you were six that got me into so much trouble?"

"That could be any number of things." Blaise tapped his chin. "Oh, I know. It's when I peed in the snow and wrote your name. Your parents thought you did it, no matter how much you tried to tell them otherwise" he snorted.

Narcissa smacked Blaise on the side of his head. "You did that? Draco was telling the truth?"

"See? What did I tell you, Mother? Blaise was a delinquent. Still is, as a matter of fact." He turned to Luna. "So do you want to tell us what happened?"

As Luna explained what happened with the potions, Caroline released Teddy from his handcuffs. They both walked over to Blaise, and Caroline took her index finger and started poking him. She still wasn't convinced that the little boy in front of her was Blaise.

"Quit poking me, Caroline," warned the little Italian boy.

"I think you're fibbing. I don't think you're Blaise at all," said Caroline.

"Then who the fuck would I be?"

"Yep, you're Blaise alright," said Caroline. "Only you can curse like that."

"Watch your language, young man," scolded Narcissa. "It's bad enough that you had to give Draco that garbage." She was referring to all the sex toys lying around. "I will not tolerate foul language from you, too."

"Sorry, Cissa," said Blaise with his head lowered.

"Everyone, let's go downstairs to breakfast and discuss this calmly," said Draco. "I'm sure we can all figure this out."

"Draco, you need to clean up this mess first," Narcissa said pointing to all the 'toys' Caroline and Teddy had been playing with.

"Hey, don't throw those away," said Blaise. "Those are top of the line. If you don't want them, give them to me."

"So you could do what with them, little man?" asked Draco.

"Ouch, that hurts. You really know how to kick a guy in the balls when he's down."

As the others went downstairs, Draco started gathering up all the 'toys' to dispose of them, when Hermione picked up a few items and looked at them curiously.

She walked over to Draco and said in a low voice, "You know, I think we should keep a few of these." He looked at her surprised and then a wide grin spread across his face.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't the goody-goody you've always pretended to be. You do have a kinky side, don't you, Granger?" He swatted her bottom with one of the paddles.

"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. "Let's just say I'm curious."

"I'll tell you what," he said. "When we figure out all this business with Blaise, we'll come back up to my room and experiment." He stalked toward her until the back of her knees hit the edge of Caroline's bed. He pounced on her and started kissing her passionately.

A far away voice yelled, "You two better not be snogging in my bedroom!"

*****

Much to Blaise's dismay, Luna had to leave for New Orleans. She made everyone promise that they would visit and said her goodbyes. Before she left she asked Caroline to take good care of Blaise. Caroline nodded her head and gave the thumbs up.

"How could you pick the wrong potion?" asked Draco still not believing that Blaise would be so stupid. "Snape told you not to touch the red ones." They were all sitting around the table about to eat breakfast.

"I'm partially colorblind. They didn't look different to me," explained Blaise,

"We've known each other since we were in nappies. Why didn't you ever tell me you were colorblind?"

"It's never been an issue before. So far, I've coasted through life with no one knowing. I can't tell the difference between red and green."

"You can't tell the difference between red and green?" asked Draco incredulously. "No wonder you hate Christmas so much. That makes sense now."

Caroline gasped. She had never heard of such blasphemy in all her young years.

"You hate Christmas? It's against the law to hate Christmas, I'm pretty sure." She said as a matter of fact.

"It's not that I _hate _Christmas; it's just that I don't enjoy it as much as most people."

Caroline thought about this for a moment. "So are you going to stay a kid forever?" It wasn't that she didn't like Teddy, but Caroline didn't have many friends around her age and was excited to have another playmate.

"Merlin, I hope not. There is no way I want to go through puberty again," said Blaise.

He was having a hard time eating at the table because of his new shorter nature, so he took a cue from Caroline and Teddy and sat on his knees, much to Narcissa's disappointment.

Now that the secret was out about the de-aging potion, Draco decided now was the best time to come clean with his mother.

"You mean to tell me, you've been having my tea laced with de-aging potion?" Narcissa's voice raised an octave.

"Don't be angry. But you're the demographic we're going to be marketing to. I didn't think a little bit would hurt."

"Angry? I'm not angry," she grinned. "I've never felt better in my life." She flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder.

"You do look a bit perkier, Cissa," Blaise said looking at her chest.

"That's enough, Blaise," Draco said as he smacked the back of Blaise's head with his newspaper. "Snape said he would stop over for breakfast. He should be here soon. I hope he has an antidote, because I don't want to my best man to be a midget," said Draco.

"Best man?" Narcissa looked back and forth at Hermione and Draco. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, mother, Granger and I are getting married."

Caroline jumped up and screamed. She started doing her little happy dance around the room.

"What is she doing?" asked Draco.

"Oh, that's her 'I'm-glad-my-mum-and-dad-are-finally-getting-married' happy dance. She's wanted a 'real' family for a long time now." She used air quotes around 'real.'

"They're getting married. They're getting married," Caroline chanted. "They're getting married."

"Oh, this is such wonderful news," said Narcissa. "I need to start a list." She summoned parchment and quill and started to write.

"Mother, I know this will be impossible for you, but we want to keep the wedding low-key. "

"I can do low-key," said Narcissa. "We'll just invite only 300 people."

Hermione about choked on her tea. "Only 300? We're talking less than a tenth of that – probably less."

Narcissa threw down her quill and huffed. "That's nonsense. Who ever heard of a wedding with less than 30 people?"

"People do it all the time, Mother." He scooted closer to Hermione and put his arm around her shoulders. "Or, we could just go to the wizarding area of Las Vegas and get married by an Elvis impersonator." He gave Hermione a quick peck on the lips.

"I'd vote for that one," said Blaise. He reached over Caroline's plate for some more bacon instead of asking her to pass it to him. She scowled at him.

"Manners, Blaise," scolded Caroline.

Narcissa rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh, all right, I guess a small wedding it will be. You are a couple of spoilsports."

Just then, Snape flooed into the Malfoy fireplace and dusted the soot off his robes. He looked around the room, his eyes stopping at Narcissa.

"Narcissa, lovely to see you as always," said Snape as he reached down and kissed her hand. He carefully studied her face trying not to be too obvious.

"Severus." She nodded in acknowledgement. "Draco tells me you've been busy. Well, as you can see for yourself, your potion works."

"Yeah, it works too well," grumbled Blaise.

Snape looked over at the little boy and narrowed his eyes. "And who might you be, young man?"

"Aw, cut the crap, Snape. Thanks to your potion, I've de-aged back to a seven-year-old."

"This is Blaise," said Draco nodding down at the little boy.

Snape's eyes widened in surprise. "Surely, this must be some kind of a joke."

"This is no fucking joke, you arsehole. I accidently took one of your red vials."

"What did I tell you about language, Blaise," warned Narcissa.

"This is fascinating," said Snape with a half smile. "I never thought it would work like this."

"Okay, okay. We know the potion works. Now how about giving me the antidote?"

"Antidote? There is no antidote. Everyone wants to look younger. I've never heard of anyone wanting to get older."

"Well, I do. I can't stay like this," said Blaise.

Caroline raised her hand. "I want to be older too."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Caroline. You don't know what you're talking about."

She turned to him and stuck her tongue out.

"Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me," said Snape. "I'll go back to my lab and start working on an antidote."

"Be quick about it, would you?" asked Blaise. He reached over to grab a biscuit and accidentally knocked over his glass of milk.

"Aw, shit," he said as he tried to mop up the mess with his napkin. With a flick of Draco's wand the mess was cleaned up.

"Mummy, maybe Blaise needs one of my old Sippy cups," said Caroline innocently.

"Sippy cup?" Blaise retorted. "I'll tell you what you can do with your Sippy cup."

He jumped down from his seat with his empty glass in hand and headed toward the bar. He had to get up on his tippy toes to reach the bottle of firewhiskey. He poured himself a couple of fingers worth and then lit a cigarette he had stashed behind the bar. When he inhaled the smoke from the cigarette he started to cough. Thinking that the firewhiskey would take care of the cough, he grabbed his glass and downed his drink. He spit out the liquid as he felt the burn in his mouth.

"What the fuck?" He threw his glass against the wall. "Smoking, drinking and shagging are the only three things in life I enjoy doing, and now I can't fucking do any of them."

"Cheer up, old man. Just think, you can now make right all the wrongs in your life. You've got a clean slate, so to speak," smirked Draco.

"I want my old slate back. This fucking sucks."

"Blaise Zabini! You've asked for it young man. I warned you to control your language." Narcissa swished her wand in Blaise's direction.

"What the _fudge_ are you doing?" Blaise asked nervously after Narcissa cast a spell.

"_Fudge? Fudge_? What the _fudge_?" For the life of him, he couldn't say the word 'fuck' because all that came out of his mouth when he tried was the word 'fudge.'

"It's a non-cursing spell," explained the older witch. "Any time you try to say something foul, a different word will come out of your mouth."

Caroline thought this was the funniest thing she ever heard. She immediately started laughing her little chipmunk/hyena laugh which caused everyone at the table to start laughing, except Blaise and Snape (because Snape never laughed at anything).

Draco leaned over to Hermione and whispered in her ear. "Maybe you and I can do some _fudging_ later on. What do you say, Granger?" He wiggled his eyebrows, and Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"That's a bunch of _ship._ Undo the spell you _fudging witch_," Blaise snarled at Narcissa. "And quit laughing, Caroline. I'm very, very, very, very _pitched_ off at the moment."

This made Caroline laugh even more, making milk squirt out of her nose. Tears of mirth streamed down her cheeks, and she was gasping for air while still laughing. Blaise shoved her shoulder trying to get her to stop her hysterics. This caused her to lose her balance. She rocked to the side in her chair and accidentally fell off hitting her head on Teddy's chair next to her.

She sat up rubbing the bump on her head. "Ow, _fudge_!"


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Sorry for posting this so late. We went out of town for the weekend. Hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks so much for the reviews. They really keep me going. :)

Disclaiimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 33

While Snape was concocting the antidote, Blaise lived in Malfoy Manor. At first, he stayed with Stefan for a few days, but that wasn't working out. Stefan recalled what a terror Blaise was at that age and had a hard time keeping an eye on him. Draco remembered what a hellion Blaise was as well, so with a lot of hesitation, Draco agreed to let him stay at the Manor.

So far, Snape was having trouble coming up with an antidote that worked. Two times Snape came with a new potion, and everyone gathered around with great anticipation to see if it worked. Much to everyone's dismay (especially Blaise) each one failed at bringing him back to his normal self. The engagement party was coming up so something had to be done and fast.

During the first week of Blaise's 'incarceration' (as he put it), he and Caroline fought like siblings. One would think that since they were closer in age now, they would get along better, but that had not been the case. Blaise gave tips to Teddy on how to antagonize Caroline, which evidently was working since their pranks really pissed her off.

"Mummy, Blaise is bothering me again," whined Caroline.

"What's he doing now?" Hermione continued to read her book as she spoke.

"He keeps trying to look up my dress, that perv."

"So what do you do when he does that?"

"I try to kick him, but he moves too fast."

"Well," said Hermione, "the solution to the problem is simple. Just go to your room and change into some jeans. That way he can't look up your dress anymore. You always have to stay one step ahead of a man. Remember that, Caroline."

The little blond-haired girl nodded and ran up the stairs toward her room.

At the top of the stairs Teddy and Blaise were standing in her way, each one with his arms folded over his chest.

"Where's the fire, Caroline?" asked Blaise.

"I'm busy. Get out of my way." She tried to push past the two boys but was unable to get very far.

"I've know of a new game that I'm going to show Teddy. Do you want to play?"

"No way. Yesterday you showed us how to play cowboys and Indians, and you tied me up. I would still be tied up if it wasn't for Trixie finding me."

"Well, this game is nothing like that. You won't be tied up or gagged or anything," said Blaise with a smirk.

"What do I have to do?" she asked warily.

"Nothing. That's the beauty of this game. All you have to do is lie down."

"And then what?"

"Then Teddy and I will be the healers, and you will be our patient," he said with a grin.

"Oh, okay," said Caroline who thought that sounded harmless enough.

* * *

The second week went a little smoother. Blaise was getting used to his new body, and he didn't seem as angry as before. But he still knew how to push Caroline's buttons, and the name calling came up to a new high.

"Dragon breath!" yelled Blaise.

"Poopy bum!" Caroline yelled louder.

"Booger face!"

"Penis head!"

But with a strong talking to from Draco, he laid off. Or maybe it was because Caroline punched him in the eye that made him change his attitude.

Draco was in his study when Blaise came in and sat down in one of the leather chairs on the other side of the desk. Draco was looking over his accounts when he glanced up at Blaise. He did a double-take when he saw Blaise's black eye.

"How did you get the shiner?" asked Draco.

"Your daughter has a mean right hook," answered Blaise.

Draco leaned back in his chair and brought his fingers together. "Hmm, what did you do to her this time?"

"Nothing really. Caroline wanted to have a tea party with me and Teddy. I dared him to pee in one of her teacups. I didn't think he would do it, but he did. So she punched _me_ even though Teddy was the one who did it."

"So what did she do to Teddy?" asked Draco.

Blaise laughed. "She poured the tea - I mean pee - over his head. It was classic."

"Listen, the Manor has been in chaos since you've come to stay with us. I've been meaning to have a word with you."

"Oh yeah? Shoot."

"You're an adult, but you're acting like a seven-year-old."

"News flash! I _am_ a seven-year-old. Where have you been these last couple of weeks?"

"Okay, I know that you were turned into a younger person, but that doesn't mean like you have to act like one, does it? Come on, admit it, you're really taking this thing too far. You never acted this bad when you really were seven. Blaise, this nonsense has got to stop. You better shape up because Mother has threatened to throw you out on your ear if you don't quit annoying Caroline."

"When you put it that way, I'll reconsider my behavior. No more placing spiders in Caroline's bed or putting itching powder in her knickers," he said grudgingly. "Killjoy."

"Thank you. I'm sure Caroline will appreciate it, too. Now get out of here and put some ice on that eye," said Draco. "And remind me to buy Caroline a new tea set. "

* * *

Even though Draco wanted a Christmas wedding, Narcissa agreed with Hermione that it was too soon. So they compromised and decided to have the engagement party around Christmastime instead. The Manor was bustling with activity and everyone was getting ready for the holidays and the party.

Hermione had officially moved into the Manor. She hated giving up her cottage, but unbeknownst to her, Draco pulled many strings and arranged to have the whole house moved to a corner of the Malfoy estate. One could not see the huge Manor from the location of the cottage, so it was very secluded. That was going to be his wedding present to his soon-to-be-wife. And it would make a nice little love shack when they wanted to get away from everything.

It was a long day for Hermione. Narcissa was planning all the details of the engagement party and wedding. Hermione could hardly keep up with the older witch, and sometimes wondered if she should take some de-aging potion herself to match Narcissa's energy.

She was getting ready to take a nice long shower, so she took a glass of wine with her into the bathroom as she got undressed. The wine was gone by the time she stepped into the shower.

Draco walked into the bedroom and immediately heard the shower. He quickly stepped out of his clothes and silently went into the bathroom.

Hermione was rinsing the shampoo out of hair when she grabbed for something to wipe her eyes when her hand ran into a hard body. A seductive smile from her was all it took for Draco to wrap his strong arms around her and cover her neck with kisses. She immediately felt…wanted, loved, cherished. Something in the gentleness he was showing made her heart leap. There was no doubt that she was madly in love with the beautiful man standing before her. Obviously, he was thinking the same thing because he pulled back and looked deeply in the pools of chocolate.

"You know, sometimes I feel like this is a dream," Draco admitted. "I have an adorable daughter and am about to marry the most beautiful witch in the world. I must be the luckiest bastard on earth."

He tenderly pushed his wet body against hers to the shower wall and in one smooth movement entered her as she wrapped her legs around his hips. She wanted him in deeper, and he was happy to oblige. The friction between the two would have caused a fire if it weren't for the hot water cascading on upon them.

Hermione thought her lungs would explode when Draco took her breath away as he made love to her. She screamed as she climaxed and saw the fireworks again. He soon followed.

Little did they know someone was listening.

*****

Not being able to sleep, Caroline went to her parents' room. She stood before the bathroom door and heard the moans and screams from within. She turned and ran from the room.

"Blaise! Blaise! Where are you?" yelled Caroline as she ran up the hall. Blaise came out of his room wearing his pajamas and a robe.

"What's wrong?"

"You've got to help. Daddy is killing Mummy!"

"What do you mean?"

"They're in the bathroom, and I heard Mummy screaming." She had a panicked look on her face. Blaise followed her to their bedroom and immediately realized what was going on. Trying to distract her, he put his arm around her shoulder and led her out the door and toward her own bedroom.

"Where are you taking me? You've got to stop him!"

"Listen, Caroline, he's not killing your mother. Do you honestly think your dad would kill your mum? Don't worry about a thing. It's just a game grownups play sometimes."

"What kind of game?"she asked. Blaise looked at the floor. He didn't think it was his place to explain things like that to her.

Caroline noticed his hesitation and said, "Is it one of those things that I'll learn when I'm thirty?"

"You're too smart for your own good, sometimes." Blaise smirked and continued to lead her to her bedroom.

"Will you tuck me in? Lately Mummy has been too busy to tuck me in at night." Caroline looked like she was about to cry, and she lowered her head.

Noticing her sadness, he lifted her chin with his finger and looked straight into those blue-gray eyes. It was a funny thing, her eyes. Sometimes they looked grayer, and other times, they looked bluer. Tonight they looked more gray than blue. Maybe they reflected her mood.

"Come on, Darlin', tell me what's going on."

"Well, Mummy and Daddy are together all the time hugging and kissing."

"That's because they're happy. Don't you want them to be happy?" asked Blaise.

"Sure, I do. But I want my hugs and kisses too. They've forgotten about me," she said with a pout.

Blaise turned to her and gave her a hug. "They haven't forgotten about you, you silly girl. They're just busy with the party and the wedding and a bunch of other stuff. Things will go back to normal after the wedding, I promise."

Caroline felt a little better after hearing that. She hopped up on her bed and got under the covers.

"Sometimes their kissing is really gross." She stuck out her tongue and made a gagging noise.

Blaise laughed and crawled up on her bed and sat next to her. He put her lion and dragon on either side of her.

"You know, when you grow up, you'll like kissing a lot I bet. Your hormones just haven't kicked in yet."

"But do they have to do it all the time? Yuck." She contorted her face in disgust.

"That's what people do when they're in love. Someday, you'll fall in love and you'll act the same way." Blaise leaned back on the headboard and put his hands behind his head.

"How do you know if you're in love with someone?"

"Let's see. For me, the first time I kissed her, I got a tingling feeling from my heart down to my stomach. And I felt like I was going to puke."

"Well, I'm never going to fall in love or kiss anyone."

"Hey, I thought you and I were going to get married," joked Blaise.

Caroline giggled and put her hand up to her mouth. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, just because we get married doesn't mean we have to love each other, does it?"

"No, people used to get married all the time and not love each other," said Blaise. "But it does help."

"Okay, I could probably love you. But no kissing."

He leaned over and gave her a big smack on the lips.

"Hey, I didn't say you could kiss me!"

"Okay, I'll take it back." He kissed her again this time a little slower, but he still didn't open his mouth.

"See that wasn't so bad was it?" asked Blaise.

"No, I guess not. But don't do it again okay?"

Blaise rolled his eyes and jumped off the bed. "Good night, Caroline."

"Good night, Blaise. Remember, no kissing! You have to promise."

He just shook his head and chuckled as he left the room. Once out in the hallway, he leaned against the wall. He had a tingling feeling all over and felt like he was about to puke.

"No way," he mumbled to himself. "That can't be possible."


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Don't worry, Blaise is not going to become a pedophile for goodness sakes. LOL But get ready for another twist. Thanks for taking the time to read and review. I know there are thousands of other stories out there, so I'm glad you are choosing to read this one.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 34

Of all the nightmares Blaise had ever had, last night's was a doozy. Thank Merlin it was just a dream. He hopped out of bed, dressed for the day and went downstairs to breakfast.

Draco and Caroline were already at the table eating breakfast. Blaise sat in his seat and asked Caroline to pass him the bacon. No one was speaking as they continued to eat. Caroline hated the silence.

"Guess what?" she piped up. "Blaise kissed me last night."

Blaise choked on his bacon and realized that last night wasn't a dream after all. He also realized he was in deep shit.

"But don't worry. He promised he wouldn't do it again…even when we get married."

Blaise put his head down in his hands and groaned.

Draco set his coffee cup down gently and looked between Caroline and Blaise. His cold gray eyes narrowed on Blaise.

"Blaise. My study. Now." He got up from the table and threw his napkin on his plate. He stormed out of the room with a very nervous Blaise on his heels.

After the two entered Draco's study, he slammed the door and strode over to his desk. He leaned on the edge of the desk as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Calm down, Draco," said Blaise. "It's not what you think."

Draco continued to stare him down. "What am I supposed to think? You snogged my four-year-old daughter, you pervert. Tell me why I shouldn't _Avada_ your arse right now?"

"Listen. It was all innocent," Blaise started to explain.

"Said the man about to be murdered." Draco put his hands on his hips. "Go on."

_Let's see you get yourself out of this one_, Blaise thought to himself. "I was just trying to prove a point. It was a chaste kiss – nothing more. You know me better than that. I wouldn't hurt a hair on that curly little head of hers."

"And what was the point you were trying to make?"

"Caroline was upset that you and Granger are spending too much time together and ignoring her. She said your snogging made her gag. I was just trying to prove to her that not all kisses were gag-worthy. It was a quick little kiss. That's it. Nothing more. End of story." It was best not to divulge the whole story. Blaise wanted to keep his manhood – or currently his boyhood.

"And what's this bullshit about you getting married?"

"Oh, you know. That's just Caroline using her imagination again. She was just playing around."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. I didn't want to kill you this morning. That would have ruined my whole day."

"No shit," said Blaise relaxing for the first time.

"She thinks we're ignoring her, yeah?" asked Draco. "I guess I can see why she would feel that way. I didn't realize how this wedding stuff was affecting her. I'll talk to Granger to see if we can make it up to her somehow."

"Not a bad idea. You two need to spend more time with her." Blaise turned to leave. "Oh, and I might suggest you put a stronger silencing spell on your bathroom." He gently closed the door behind him.

"Where have I heard that before?" muttered Draco.

*****

Blaise decided to use his time researching in the library to see if he might come up with anything that would get him back to normal. After last night's encounter, he thought it best to keep his distance from Caroline. He hoped it was just an effect of the potion and that he really didn't have feelings for the little girl. But why take a chance? So he did the best he could to avoid her.

Blaise was pouring over a book about potions when Caroline skipped into the library. She leaned over the book he was reading, blocking his view.

"Whatcha doing?" asked Caroline.

"I'm taking a shit. What does it look like I'm doing?" grumbled Blaise.

"Do you want to play checkers?" asked Caroline.

"No."

"How about Exploding Snap?"

"No."

"How about you teach me how to play wizard chess?"

Blaise was losing his patience. "How about you leave me the fuck alone?"

He might as well have slapped her by the look on her face. He instantly felt like a prick.

Caroline raised her chin and huffed. "I don't want to play with you anyway, Mr. Grouchy-pants." She turned on her heel and started to leave the room. "I like my old Blaise better."

*****

Hermione was still in bed when Draco entered their bedroom. He sat down hard on the edge of the bed jarring her awake.

"Get up, you lazy cow," said Draco.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy. I'm tired."

He leaned over her and grinned. "Was I too much for you last night, Granger?"

She snorted. "You wish, ego boy. In fact, my last orgasm wasn't as strong as the ones before. I think you're losing your touch. I want a do-over," she laughed.

"I'll give you a do-over, you little minx." He knew where all her ticklish spots were and zeroed in on them. She squealed in laughter as he relentlessly attacked her. She tried to push his tickling hands away from her, but it was no use. He was just too strong.

Pinning her hands over her head, he looked into her bright eyes and gently kissed her. Still trying to catch her breath, her chest was heaving as she moaned into his mouth. After letting go of her hands, she wove her fingers through his soft silky hair and pulled him even closer, if that was possible.

He rolled off her and lay on his side with this head propped on his hand. He studied every curve on her body. She wore a tank top that was stretched a little too tight over her chest and little boy shorts. With his free hand, he lazily drew circles on her stomach. Just that little gesture excited her to no end.

"Granger?"

"Hmm?"

"I've been thinking…"

"I thought I saw steam coming out your ears."

"Ha, ha. I'm serious." His eyes looked into hers with softness. "Let's make another baby."

"What? You sure know how to kill a mood," said Hermione."Now is not the time to have this discussion."

"I'm serious. We'll do it the right way this time. I want to be there from start to finish." He started planting little kisses on her stomach. "I bet you're beautiful with a little baby bump."

"You're mental."

"Oh, come on. Caroline needs a little brother or sister. She's lonely."

"Then buy her a puppy. End of discussion."

Draco put his ear to her stomach. He then whispered something to it and placed his ear back on her stomach.

"What are you doing?" asked Hermione.

"Talking to your eggs. One of them desperately wants to be a Malfoy."

"Oh, you!" She grabbed a pillow and smacked him on the side of his head with it.

"Hey! Watch the hair. I worked all morning on this look." He leaned over her again and grinned. "Well, if you don't want to have a baby now, can we at least practice?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

Wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, she said, "Well, practice makes perfect, as they say."

Just when she was about to kiss him, a little voice cleared her throat. Draco and Hermione looked over at Caroline, who was standing at the edge of their bed, watching.

"Don't you know how to knock?" asked her father.

"Don't you know how to lock your door?" replied his daughter.

Hermione patted the space beside her. "Come here, Caroline. I've got a surprise for you."

"What is it?" asked Caroline as she climbed up onto the bed. "Did you get me a hippopotamus for Christmas?" She loved singing the hippopotamus song.

"No, you silly, girl; guess again."

She thought about that for a moment. "You're going to let me go to your party tonight?"

"No, we've discussed this a million times, Caroline; you are not going to the engagement party. It's just for adults only." She saw the girl's disappointment and quickly said, "The surprise is that I bought tickets for all of us to see the _Nutcracker_ next week."

The little one screamed in happiness and started jumping on the bed in excitement. Draco looked horrified and quickly stood up and covered his crotch.

"Count me out. I'm rather fond of my nuts and don't relish them being cracked. Thank you very much," he said.

Hermione got out of the bed and put her arms around his waist. "You're such a dope. The _Nutcracker_ is a ballet that's performed around Christmastime. It has nothing to do with your nuts."

Draco raised his hands. "I knew that. I knew that," he said to save face. Hermione and Caroline just looked at each other and shook their heads. "Anyway, why did you come in here, Cupcake?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. Mr. Snape is downstairs and wants to see you."

"Get dressed and meet us downstairs, Granger." He picked Caroline up and said, "Let's see if old Snape has found an antidote for Blaise."

*****

Snape had his bag of potions open, and grabbed one of the blue vials. "The problem with the other potions," said Snape, "was that the flux weed I bought was not picked during the full moon. That threw everything off. This should work now."

Blaise grabbed the vial and put it to his mouth. He downed the whole thing in one gulp. He looked at the others in the room nervously, hoping that something would happen soon. He got his wish.

All of a sudden Blaise doubled over with pain in his stomach. He fell to the floor on his hands and knees and groaned. Narcissa gasped and started walking over to him to help, but Snape held her back and motioned for her to wait.

Blaise started to grow. But there was a problem… Blaise was growing, but his clothes were not. The seams of his trousers and shirt started ripping open exposing his skin as he stood up, his back facing them. Caroline looked at him in awe which Hermione noticed at once and clapped her hand over her daughter's eyes.

"Blaise is a nudie patoodie," said Caroline giggling.

Hermione was also checking his backside from top to bottom. Damn, he was a fine looking man. Draco turned and scowled at her and clapped his hand over her eyes. No one clapped their hand over Narcissa's eyes, because she wouldn't have it. She was going to enjoy the view as long as possible.

"Whatever you do, Blaise, don't turn around," said Draco. Blaise was too busy inspecting his body to make sure _all_ the parts were back to normal.

"Wha…oh, yeah, I see what you mean." Blaise walked behind the bar so that only his upper body was showing. It had been a month since he had a decent drink. The first and second thing he did was to pour a glass of firewhiskey and light up a cigarette. The third thing he needed to do was to get laid. He had high hopes for the party that night.

Both Trixie and Pixie appeared with clothes for Blaise, which he quickly got dressed behind the bar. Draco strode over to him and gave him a big manly hug.

"Glad to have you back, my friend."

"It's good to be back. And thanks, Snape," he said has he shook the older man's hand and clapped him on the shoulder.

All the adults were chattering about getting ready for the party that night; the party that Caroline desperately wanted to go to, but wasn't allowed. No one noticed her as she looked into Snape's bag and saw the pretty blue bottles. If only grown-ups were allowed to go to the party, then she was going to become a grown-up. Looking at the others to make sure she wasn't being watched, she carefully took one of the blue vials from Snape's bag and ran upstairs to her room.

Blaise was eager to go home and get ready for the party. So he said his good-byes and flooed home. Snape was also ready to leave, so he reached over to grab his bag and noticed something strange.

"There were four bottles of the aging potion when I arrived. Now there are only two. What could have happened to the missing vial?" asked Snape.

Everyone looked around and couldn't find Caroline. Draco and Hermione looked at each other with eyes wide. They bolted up the stairs with Draco in the lead. Draco, Hermione, Narcissa and Snape burst through Caroline's door just as she drank the last few drops of liquid from the vial.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Hope you are all having a good weekend and survived black Friday, if you dared to go out. In case anyone else is curious about the number of aging potions in Snape's bag from the last chapter - he started out with four bottles. Blaise took one, Caroline took another so that left two. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. I am not worthy. :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 35

Hermione looked at Caroline in horror. "Nooooooo!" She ran to her daughter and fell on her knees. She shook Caroline's shoulders. "You didn't, please tell me you didn't drink the entire potion."

"Okay, Mummy; I won't tell you." But the blue bottle was lying on the floor empty. Everyone stared at her waiting for the inevitable to happen. She looked nervously at each face and swallowed hard. "I just wanted to be a grown-up so I could go to the party."

Then it started to happen. Caroline screamed in pain and doubled over. Huge tears rolled down her cheeks. Not being able to stand up due to the pain, she collapsed on the carpeted floor.

"Mummy, it hurts!!!" Hermione tried to hold and comfort her daughter, tears streaming down her own face, but Caroline started to grow out of her grasp.

"Hang on, sweetheart; the pain will be over soon." Hermione was trying to convince herself that more than Caroline. Nothing is worse than seeing your child suffer. "Quick, someone give me a pain potion."

Luckily Snape was holding his black bag and reached in a grabbed a bottle and handed it to Hermione. She forced Caroline's head back and made her swallow the thick, bitter liquid. Caroline gagged, but immediately stopped crying as the medicine took effect.

Just like Blaise, Caroline, too, grew out of her clothes. Narcissa grabbed a blanket and draped it over her granddaughter's shoulders. Just as soon as it began, the growing stopped. Caroline lay panting on the floor. She slowly stood up with the blanket clutched around her. She seemed to have grown into an 18-year-old body.

"How do you feel?" asked Draco in a worried tone. He still couldn't believe the sight before him.

"I feel okay." Gone was the little girl voice and in its place was a somewhat deeper tone. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. She wanted to see what she looked like in her full-length mirror.

They could hear giggling from the other side of the door. Of course she was checking out her new body with all its curves. She also grinned into the mirror inspecting her new grown-up teeth.

While Caroline was in the bathroom, Hermione turned to Snape. "Do you have the antidote with you?"

"Yes, Miss Granger, I do," drawled Snape. "However I would advise against giving it to her so soon after her taking the aging potion. Her whole body could go into shock and do irreparable damage."

"What should we do, then?" asked Draco.

"I would wait a few days to see how the aging potion is affecting her."

"A few days? The engagement party is tonight. We'll just have to call off the party," said Draco.

"You will do no such thing," said his mother. "It's too late to call it off. Guests will be arriving within the next couple of hours."

"Then what do you suggest we do with Caroline, Mother?" Draco asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"She'll just have to get dressed and come to the party. We can't just leave her here alone."

"Are you kidding me? Did you see how she looked? There are going to be a lot of single wizards here tonight. They'll be hovering over her like vultures," said Draco.

"Your mother is right," said Hermione. "She has to come with us where we can keep an eye on her. But she can't go as Caroline – that would raise too many questions. We'll have to darken her hair a little and change her eyes or else everyone will know she's a Malfoy if she shows up with white-blond hair."

"Hell, why don't you change her name while you're at it," said Draco sarcastically. "No, Caroline's got to stay in this room. We'll lock the door. It's too dangerous for her to be out in public like that."

"You can't just lock her in here like a prisoner, Malfoy."

"That's right, Daddy," said Caroline from the other side of the door. "I can be good at the party, I promise." She opened the door with nothing on but a short pink silk robe that was a little too revealing.

"Where did you get that robe, Caroline?" asked Hermione. "There wasn't one in your bathroom."

"Yeah, I know. I just changed one of the towels into a robe. Isn't it pretty?" She twirled around and stumbled. The size of her new breasts made her lose her balance. She was going to have to get used to those.

"Wandless magic seems to be one of the side-effects of the potion," said Snape. "Truly fascinating."

"Okay, this is what we'll do. Caroline, you take a quick shower and then come to my room to pick out a gown," said Hermione. "We should change your name as well as your hair color and eyes."

"Oh, geez," complained Draco. "You can't be serious."

"I've always liked the name Sophia," said Narcissa. "In fact, that's what we would have named Draco if he was a girl."

Draco groaned and rolled his eyes. "I still think this is a bad idea. We're going to spending most of the evening fending off horny, drunk men."

"Relax, Malfoy; she'll be fine with all of us watching her." Hermione waved her wand over Caroline's head. She changed her hair to a darker blond, and her eyes to a brighter blue.

"Caroline, remember that your name is now Sophia for tonight. This is a game of pretend. You can say that you're my cousin from Australia if anyone asks. Don't talk to anyone unless they speak to you first. Stay within our sight at all times. Only the people in this room know who you really are, got it?"

"Got it. I'm good at pretending. I'll be quiet as a mouse, I swear. You won't even know I'm there." She bounced up and down with glee clapping her hands. "I get to go to the party. I get to go to the party," she chanted.

"Don't bounce, Cupcake, please, don't bounce." Draco rubbed his temples. He felt a migraine coming on. This was going to be a long night.

*****

Blaise felt really bad the way he treated Caroline during his 'incarceration.' He had to make it up to her, so he bought her a new wizard chess set, and he would teach her how to play. He shrunk the present and put it in his pocket as he flooed into Malfoy Manor.

He bound up the steps two at a time and just reached the second floor, when his eyes gazed upon the most angelic vision he had ever seen. A petite blond with wet hair and a clingy silk robe was slightly skipping and dancing in his direction.

His heart stopped and all the air was pushed out of his lungs. After what seemed to be an eternity, his heart started beating again. She had ear buds in her ears and was in her own little world singing, "I kissed a girl," by Katy Perry. She was looking down at her iPod and didn't notice him standing there. He was jerked out of his stupor when this beautiful creature bumped into his hard body and fell back on her arse with an "Oof."

He was immaculately dressed in his finest robes and was so devilishly handsome. His eyes darkened as he looked over her body. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. He thought she slightly resembled the Caroline in the mirror at Madam Malkin's, but he couldn't be sure. After all, he didn't really look at her face too carefully when he saw her in the mirror.

Blaise extended his hand to the young lady to help her up. "Here, let me help you. I won't bite," said Blaise smoothly flashing his bright smile. Uncomfortable with how he was looking down at her, she hesitated.

She slowly reached up and took his hand. It felt warm to the touch, and she didn't want to let go after she stood. He must have felt the same way because he didn't let go. In fact, he held on tighter.

"I'm Blaise. And who might you be little darlin'?" For a moment she debated on telling him the truth, but her mum was very clear that no one should know.

"I'm So-Sophia," she stuttered. She wondered why she was feeling so odd. Ever since she had known him, she'd seen him hundreds of times. Why was this different? Warmth spread throughout her body and seemed to concentrate between her legs. Her heart was palpitating and her breath was irregular.

"I've got to get ready," she said as she tried to pull her hand away.

"Well, my sweet Sophia, you must save at least one dance for me." He brushed his lips over the back of her hand and gave her a wink. Her knees buckled, and she started to go down. He caught her by the waist before she hit the ground again.

"I'm sorry," she said as she clutched the front of his robes trying to pull herself up. His cologne was so intoxicating, she swooned again. What was wrong with her?

"Are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out. You need to lie down." Picking her up bridal style, he took her to the guest suites he usually stayed in when he was at the Manor. She placed her arms around his neck as he carried her down the hall. He enjoyed the softness of her skin and her fresh out-of-the-shower smell of strawberries and vanilla. He finally reached the room, and kicked open the door.

After carefully laying her on the sofa in front of the fireplace, he walked around the room turning on various lamps. She was chilled, so she pointed to the fireplace and started a fire wandlessly.

He looked at her in surprise. "Wandless magic? Who are you and where are you from?" _and will you marry me? _What were the chances that he would have the most perfect woman practically appear out of nowhere wearing practically nothing? The gods were smiling on him tonight.

"I'm Sophia; Mu…Mione's cousin from Australia." She got up and quickly headed toward the door. "Listen, I've got to go."

Blaise grabbed her arm before she was able to leave. "Meet me on the terrace later." He gently kissed her on her cheek. She simply nodded and left the room, her heart beating wildly.

*****

"Mummy, I feel strange," said Caroline as she walked into the room. Hermione looked at her with concern. She was worried to find out what other effects the potion might have.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked as she hugged her grown daughter. It was going to take her a while to get used to seeing her as a young lady rather than a little girl. Draco was having a hard time accepting it as well. Although she was now a beautiful woman, he missed his sweet little Caroline.

"I feel funny," she said to her mother in a whisper, and she explained the feeling she had in her stomach and throughout her body. She didn't mention her encounter with Blaise.

"Malfoy, I think we have a problem." Hermione said after Caroline went into her dressing room to pick out a gown.

"Huh? What do you mean? This whole thing is a problem." He continued to adjust his dress robes in the mirror.

"Well, one thing we didn't consider is that now that she's grown, she has raging hormones. What do we do? She's too young for the 'talk'."

"It's easy," said Draco. "Like I said before, just lock her up in her room. Then we won't have to worry about it."

"You're a big help. We can't just lock her up. I'm going to talk to her," said Hermione.

"Good luck with that." He sat down on one of the chairs and waited for Caroline to come out of the dressing room so he could see how Hermione explained things to her.

"Caroline, we need to talk about these feelings you've been having," said Hermione. "Now that you're not little anymore, you're going to have some grown up feelings toward boys…er, men."

"What kind of feelings?" asked Caroline.

"Well, uh…This isn't working. Let me try again. Caroline, you are now a very beautiful woman and men are going to be attracted to you."

"'Cuz I got big boobs, now?"

Draco was enjoying this exchange and how uncomfortable Hermione was talking about it.

"Yeah, you have bigger…assets than your mum, and guys like women with big…"

"Malfoy, you are not helping," scolded Hermione.

"Bottom line, Cupcake, keep the guys of out your knickers. See Granger, that wasn't so hard."

"I don't think guys would fit in my knickers anyway," Caroline giggled.

"Okay, enough with this nonsense. You two need to get dressed," said Draco. "I'll be waiting downstairs."

*****

Caroline picked out a light blue satin gown that really flattered her curves. Hermione gave her a matching shawl to drape over her shoulders, although some things were hard to hide. Knowing that she would have a difficult time with high heels, Hermione chose something a little safer.

Now what to do with Caroline's hair? The weight of her long hair pulled many of her curls out so now it hung in waves down her back. Hermione pulled up one side of her daughter's hair and held it back with a sapphire barrette. She just let the rest hang down naturally. Breathtaking as a word to describe Caroline was not sufficient.

Hermione looked elegant in her emerald green gown. Draco didn't know that she would be wearing green, so she hoped he would appreciate the surprise. She had another surprise in store for him later on that evening.

As Caroline was waiting for her mother to finish getting ready, she was pacing and wringing her hands nervously. As the time got closer to the party, and the music started, the butterflies in her stomach grew larger. Hermione took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile as they headed downstairs.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: I'm really enjoying reading whether you are **for** Blaise and Caroline or **against** them. Don't worry, Blaise isn't going to be a pedophile. :D Have a great week everyone!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline/Sophia) belong to JKR. Parts of the song _Sweet Sophia_ - by Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers.

*****

Chapter 36

Malfoy Manor's ballroom was filled with guests. The room was truly magnificent, decorated with scarlet and emerald for Christmas. White lights adorned the massive Christmas tree in the corner of the room.

Hermione entered the ballroom with a nervous looking young woman beside her. Many of the guests turned to look at the two beauties that just entered. Draco and Narcissa were speaking with her friends Eric, Celine, and Celeste when his attention was drawn to his fiancée and his daughter. He slowly walked toward the two of them, both visions of perfection. Damn, he was the luckiest bastard on earth.

"You two look stunning tonight. Mind if I ask your mum for a dance?" Draco asked Caroline. She nodded her approval. "Go over there with your grandmother then, would you?" She again nodded and walked over to Narcissa and her friends.

Stefan and Blaise were talking out on the terrace drinks in hand. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" asked Blaise.

"Absolutely not. Zabinis are not wired for that type of thing. Why?"

"Well, I just met this angel upstairs and she took my breath away." He looked back into the ballroom and saw her.

_When you showed up, you showed up right on time.  
An elegant sweetheart that just blew my mind.  
I guess the keys to my castle had always been there.  
There for taking, but nothing could prepare me..._

Stefan turned to look at who Blaise was staring at. Standing at the other end of the room was a young lady dressed in blue. She was very pretty with a nice figure, and he could see why Blaise was attracted to her. He looked back and forth between Blaise and 'Sophia.'

"Breathe, Blaise," said Stefan to his younger cousin.

_Sweet Sophia  
Girl one look at you and I was hooked  
and then  
Sweet Sophia  
Thundering beds and the earthquakes shook.  
With your heart shaped lips and my breath that you took.  
_  
"Oh no," said Stefan. "You've got it bad. He looked around the room. "She sure draws attention from the other men."

Blaise scowled at him. "Maybe so, but they just want to get into her knickers."

"And you don't?"

"No. I have a different feeling about this one."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless."

*****

Draco took Hermione's arm and led her to the dance floor. He held her close enough that he could feel her heart beat.

"You look beautiful in emerald," he said.

"I thought you might like it."

"I'll like it even better when I can take it off you later." He spun her around and dipped her backwards. She laughed and reached up for a quick kiss.

"Have I told you I love you today?" Draco asked.

"A few times, but I'll never get tired of hearing it." He felt warm and happy as she smiled up at him. They danced in silence for a few minutes just taking in the moment.

"Happy?" she asked.

"Very." He pressed his forehead against hers.

"I've got a present for you. Do you want me to give it to you now or later?"

He looked around the room at the other guests and got a wicked grin on his face. "Can you give it to me in public?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter." She playfully swatted his arm.

"I actually have to look up to see the gutter, love," he purred in her ear. A shiver went through her body.

"Follow me," she said as she grabbed his hand.

*****

Caroline, or rather Sophia, was getting bored with the adult conversation so she wandered over to one of the refreshment tables. She was disappointed that there was no punch or cookies. And where were the balloons? And games? Some party this was.

Eric walked over to Stefan and Blaise as they watched Sophia from the doorway between the terrace and the ballroom.

"Quite a little honey, isn't she?" asked Eric. "With all that blond hair I wonder if the carpet matches the drapes." The two cousins looked at Eric with disgust. "I'll let you two blokes know later on tonight." He gave Blaise and Stefan a wink.

Blaise saw red as Eric quickly walked over to Sophia and asked her to dance. She shook her head no, but he grabbed her arm and led her to the dance floor. She was angry and tried to twist out of his grasp with no success.

Blaise noticed the dread in her face and looked over to Stefan. Both men quickly went up to Eric. Stefan pushed him away from Sophia. "I don't think the lady wants to dance with you, Eric."

Eric spouted off some obscenities and stormed away. Sophia stuck her tongue at him behind his back.

_With a fierce disposition like the beat of a drum,  
You get hurt more than others, but you have more fun.  
I can't make it stop so the love keeps on growing.  
If it killed me today I'd be better off for knowing...  
_  
Blaise took Sophia aside. For some reason he felt it was his job to protect her.

"Are you okay?"

She quietly nodded and rubbed her arm where Eric had grabbed it. Blaise took a glass of champagne from a nearby table and handed it to her.

"Here, it looks like you could use something to drink." She took the glass and brought it up to her lips. She giggled.

"This tickles my nose." She took a sip and licked her lips. Blaise really wished she hadn't done that.

"Mmm, this is really good," she said. With one big gulp she drank the rest of the champagne and smacked her lips.

Blaise looked at her in surprise and refilled the glass. "Take this one a little slower, okay?"

"Okay," she said as she still licked her lips.

"You look very beautiful tonight. I like your dress."

"It's blue, you know. I'm wearing blue because I know you can't see reds or greens too good."

"How do you know that?"

She noticed her blunder and tried to change the subject. "You like my barrette? It's made of sapphires."

"I like it very much. It matches your eyes." He tilted her chin up so he could look deep into her eyes. "Do you want to dance?"

"I don't know how."

He took her glass from her, set it down and led her on to the terrace. It was balmy on the terrace because a warming charm had been cast over the area. It was starlit and very romantic.

"Here, it's easy. Let me show you." Blaise put her arms around his neck as he put his hands on her waist. "Just sway back and forth to the music."

They stayed there for a bit just feeling the music. Sophia closed her eyes and rested her head on Blaise's shoulder. Blaise was softly singing in her ear. He decided it was time to actually move around the floor, so he took her hand and led her around the terrace.

_Sweet Sophia  
Girl one look at you and I was hooked  
and then  
Sweet Sophia  
You stole my soul with a laugh and a look.  
With your heart shaped lips and my breath that you took.  
__  
_She felt like she was melting in his arms. He smelled so good too. Her eyes were still closed as he leaned his head down a little and gently kissed her neck. She squeaked in surprise.

"Quit, that tickles," she giggled and scrunched her neck.

"Oh, so little Miss Sophia is ticklish is she? That's a good tidbit to know," Blaise laughed.

"I didn't say you could kiss me," said Sophia playfully. "If you want a kiss, you'll have to win it."

"Win. A kiss. You're kidding, right?" he asked skeptically. Unbelievable. He never had to work so hard to get laid, much less get a kiss. But he was amused by her and decided to go along with it.

"And what do you get if you win?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and tapped her chin. "I know. A kitten… a white one…with blue eyes."

"A kitten? You want a kitten." Was this girl as innocent as she seemed or was she playing with him ? He couldn't decide.

"Yep." She grabbed the bottle of champagne and said, "Bring those glasses and follow me."

*****

Hermione led Draco down a hall and positioned him right where she wanted him…under the mistletoe. He looked up and smirked.

"If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask. This isn't much of a present, Granger."

She reached up and planted a soft and lingering kiss on his lips. He wanted to take it to the next level, but she stopped him. Out of her pocket she pulled out a small box with a ribbon attached.

"The mistletoe is not the present…this is," she said as she shoved the box into his hand.

"What is it? Let's see…it's too small for a new broom. Or maybe it's a packet of sea monkeys. I've always wanted some sea monkeys."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a moron. Open it already."

"I know… it's a watch to replace the one Caroline dropped into the toilet," he said smugly. He carefully opened the box. When he saw what was in it, his jaw dropped.

Laying on a piece of black velvet was a silver rattle with a light blue ribbon tied around it.

He was flabbergasted. And one of the many rare times, speechless.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" A wide grin spread over his face.

She nodded her head with tears in her eyes. "Yes, we're going to have a baby. I'm about a month or so along."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier up in the bedroom when I was going on about having another baby?"

"The surprise wouldn't have been near as fun. You should see the expression on your face. It's priceless."

"No, you're priceless. Oh, Merlin, we're going to have a baby!" he yelled. He picked her up by the waist and started to swing her around in a circle. All of a sudden, he realized that he might hurt the baby doing that and let her down gently. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. After a few moments they had to let go of each other in order to breathe.

"Oh my gods…all the sex we had last night. What if I killed it?" he said in a panic.

Hermione laughed at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Relax; one can still make love when pregnant. What…are you going to abstain for the next eight months?"

Draco grimaced. "Eight months? I hope you're right, because there is no way I could stay away from you for eight months."

"And another thing, it's not an 'it,' it's a 'he.' Did you not notice the blue ribbon?"

"A boy? We're going to have a boy? Are you sure?"

"Well, the healer said she was 98% sure when she examined me."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "We have so much to do. We've got to set up the nursery, I've got to get him a broom, oh, and he needs…"

"Don't worry, Malfoy. We've got time."

He smiled and planted little kisses along her jaw line, down her neck, and over her breasts. Kneeling down on one knee, he put his hands on her hips and gently kissed her belly. He looked up at her with warmth in his eyes. "Have I told you I love you today?"

*****

"That party was boring," said Sophia. "There were no cookies or games or anything good." She led him down yet another hall to a set of double doors. "Here we are."

She brought him to the mansion's billiard room. There were all sorts of (mostly Muggle) games one could play: billiards, darts, poker, blackjack. She pulled him over to a large screen television where there were several video game consoles.

"Video games? You want to play video games. Are you for real?" asked Blaise in disbelief.

"Yep, you win, you get a kiss. I win, I get a kitten." She had the upper hand, because each time she and Blaise played video games in the past, she usually won.

What she didn't know was that Blaise let her win on those occasions.

She threw a remote to him. "I'm gonna kick your heinie."

"Bring it," said Blaise. He took off his outer robes and waistcoat so he was just left wearing his shirt and trousers. He took off his tie, opened a couple of buttons and rolled up his sleeves. They both kicked off their shoes, and Sophia threw her shawl on the floor.

They each had a wireless controller that would make the character on the screen move as they did. She put a tennis game into the console. They played for a few minutes volleying the ball back and forth, their arms swinging wildly. Much to Sophia's dismay, Blaise was winning.

She had to do something, so she swung her hips to the side and bumped into him making him temporarily loose his balance, thus missing the shot.

"You cheat!" he exclaimed laughing. He righted himself and did the same to her. Only when he bumped her, she lost her balance fell to the floor. She burst out laughing.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry," he said as he offered her his hand to help her up. She grabbed his proffered hand and pulled herself up and into his arms. She was laughing hard and breathing heavily.

"I guess you won anyway," said Sophia. "You've earned your kiss." Although she wasn't crazy about kissing in general, something stirred in her and she longed to kiss him.

She reached up and put her hands around his neck and pulled him toward her. One of his arms was around her waist. The other hand was tenderly pushing the hair from her face. The barrette had fallen out when she fell.

Their eyes lingered on each other as he lowered his head and lightly brushed his lips against hers.

_With your heart shaped lips and my breath that you took.  
And my breath, little girl that you took.  
Sweet Sophia_

_*****_

Draco and Hermione were walking back to the party and passed the billiard room. They stopped when they heard familiar voices inside. Draco threw the double doors wide open. He stood in the doorway with a murderous look on his face.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Thanks for all your continued support. I appreciate all your comments - both good and bad. :) There will probably be a sequel - not positive yet though. Have a great week!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 37

Narcissa was getting worried. She found Snape talking to one of the other guests and pulled him aside to speak with him privately.

"Have you seen Draco or Hermione? And where is Caroline? I'm afraid I've lost track of her," she said wringing her hands.

"No, I'm sorry, Cissa. I haven't seen any of them for a while."

"Would you mind helping me look for them? I have a bad feeling something isn't right."

Snape nodded and followed Narcissa down several hallways, peeking in various rooms along the way. They turned the corner to go down yet another hall, when voices were heard and a loud crack exploded. Someone screamed.

Rushing down the hall, they came to the double doors to the billiard room. Narcissa didn't want to open the doors afraid of what she might find.

Just only a few moments ago, seeing Blaise and Caroline about to kiss, Draco pointed his wand at his best friend and _stupefied_ him causing him to fly backwards and hit his head on the side of the billiard table. When Snape and Narcissa opened the doors, they found a lifeless Blaise lying on the floor unconscious and bleeding, Hermione yelling at Draco, Caroline crying and screaming, and Draco about to cast another spell.

"Lower your wand," Snape said n a measured tone as he pointed his wand at his godson's head. If anyone other than Snape had done that, Draco would tell them to sod off. But since it was Snape at the other end of that wand, Draco knew he had better obey.

He lowered his wand and said, "I don't need a wand to murder this son of a bitch – I can do it with my bare hands." Hermione and Narcissa rushed to his side holding him back by his arms. Snape bent down to see if Blaise was still alive.

"Is he dead? Did Daddy kill him?" asked Caroline.

"No, just unconscious," said Snape. Blaise started to wake up, his vision fuzzy. He was desperately trying to focus but kept drifting in and out.

Draco was struggling against Narcissa and Hermione. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill him," spat Draco. He was livid, and he was frightening Caroline.

"I'll give you one good reason," said Hermione. "I will not have the father of my children sent to Azkaban. I raised Caroline on my own for four years, and I'm not about to raise two children without you."

"Two children?" asked Narcissa surprised. "What are you trying to tell us? Are you…?" Hope spread across her face.

Hermione smiled at her soon-to-be mother-in-law. "Yes, we're going to have another little Malfoy running around soon." Narcissa squealed and hugged Hermione. Caroline squealed as well and starting jumping up and down clapping. She was slightly tipsy from the champagne and almost stumbled sideways.

"Shut up everyone, we need to focus on the task at hand…killing this s-o-b. And what did I tell you about bouncing, Caroline?" warned Draco.

"Daddy, please. Don't hurt him."

"Shut up, Caroline. You've caused enough trouble tonight."

Blaise's foggy brain heard the words 'daddy' and 'Caroline.' He opened the one eye that didn't have blood dripping in it from a cut on his forehead.

"Daddy? Who's your daddy?" mumbled Blaise puzzled.

The young lady in blue said, "He's my daddy," as she pointed to Draco.

"Huh? Sophia? I'm confused."

Caroline bent down closer to Blaise. "No, not Sophia. Caroline."

"Ca…Caroline?" He passed out once again.

"Yeah, you stupid bastard, you were snogging my daughter." But Blaise didn't hear him.

"We weren't snogging, Daddy. Our lips just touched, that's all. We didn't even get to the kissing part."

"And what else were you doing in here? Where did he touch you?" he demanded.

Caroline thought a moment. "Well, let's see. Our hands touched, he touched my waist when we danced. And my lips just a little. Oh, and he tickled my neck." As she spoke, she pointed to the areas that Blaise touched. Draco was relieved when those were the only places he touched. Knowing Blaise as well as he did, he was surprised and thankful that more private areas weren't invaded.

Blaise awoke once again. "Caroline? Sophia?" He sat up slowly and leaned against the leg of the billiard table. "Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"As if you don't know, Zabini."

"He really doesn't know, Malfoy," said Hermione. "Why didn't you tell him who Sophia was? Blaise of all people should have been warned."

"Because I figured Caroline would tell him," Draco explained. "She such a blabber-mouth, I just knew she couldn't keep this a secret."

"Hey, I did good at pretending I was Sophia." Caroline folded her arms over her chest and hiccupped.

The hit on Blaise's head made him a little slow. "So there is no Sophia? It was Caroline all along?"

"Let me recap, shall I?" asked Draco condescendingly. "After you left earlier today, Caroline stole one of the bottles of aging potion from Snape's bag. Before we could stop her, she drank the potion and became…this." He pointed to Caroline. "So who you thought was Sophia, was actually four-year-old Caroline."

Hermione went up to her daughter and waved her wand, making Caroline's hair turn back to white blond and her eyes turn back to blue-gray.

Blaise put his head in his hands. "No, no, no, no, no. That can't be true," he said in denial. "Oh, holy fucking Merlin, please tell me this is a joke." His heart dropped. Not only was the girl he was smitten with not real, but she was actually a child. All of a sudden he felt dirty and disgusted with himself.

He stood up and slowly walked to the bar. He poured a drink, looked at the glass, set it down and lifted the whole bottle to his mouth and started chugging the fiery liquid.

Draco walked over to a table by the sofa and picked up an empty champagne bottle. "This just keeps getting better and better," he said sarcastically.

"It was really yummy. And I only had one glass, Daddy."

"By the look of things, you kept refilling it. You're drunk!"

"No, hic, I'm not," Caroline giggled.

"I'm curious, Blaise, what where you planning on doing with this pretty, drunk blond? Hmmm?"

"Video games," said Blaise.

"Video games? You came in here to play video games?"

"He's telling the truth, Daddy."

"No, Caroline. He didn't bring you in here to play video games. That was just a lie to get you in here alone. Remember what I said about guys wanting to get into your knickers?"

"It was my idea to come here to play games. Oh, and you don't have to worry guys getting in my knickers, Daddy; because I'm not wearing any."

Blaise looked up to the ceiling. "Merlin's balls, I did not need to know that."

Draco clapped his hand over his eyes and groaned. "Just kill me now. Would someone please take her to her room?"

"No, I want to stay so I can make sure you don't kill my Blaise."

Draco grabbed her by the shoulders. "He is not your Blaise. He could have really hurt you. I wish I could make you understand what could have happened."

Large tears formed in Caroline's eyes. "Blaise would never hurt me. He's my friend."

"Not intentionally, sweetheart. But things should have gotten out of hand – things you're too young to understand," said Hermione as she hugged her and wiped away her tears. "Here, let's go upstairs and get you into your jammies." She started to lead Caroline away.

Caroline turned and ran toward Blaise. She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. He couldn't bring himself to hug her back and gently pushed her away from him. He shook his head and gave her a sad smile.

"I'm sorry I got you into trouble." Her lower lip was trembling as she was about to cry again. "I love you, Blaise." She turned and was about to leave when she went up to Draco and got in his face.

"If you do anything to MY Blaise, I will hate you forever!" She hissed at her father with eyes as cold as his. Hermione put a comforting arm around Caroline's shoulder and led her out the door.

Draco looked around at the others. "Malfoy Enterprises will not be marketing and selling the de-aging or aging potions. It's too dangerous. Look what it's done to us." He ran his hands through his hair. It had been a hell of a day, and he would be glad when it was over.

"That is a wise decision," Snape drawled. "After your daughter is back to normal, I will destroy all the remaining potions."

"Well, maybe you could give me a little to use for maintenance purposes," said Narcissa with a wink. "I need to get back to our guests." She walked up to Draco and gave him a hug. "I suggest you two work this out like adults. You've grown up together like brothers. You know that Blaise didn't realize she was Caroline. He doesn't have it in his heart to hurt anyone, especially her. When you were a child, I always hoped and prayed that you wouldn't end up like Lucius – full of hate and spite. Please don't disappoint me."

After Snape and Narcissa left the room, Draco bent down and picked up his wand. At the same time, Blaise bent down and picked up the blue sapphire barrette that Caroline/Sophia dropped and put it in his pocket.

Blaise sighed, opened his arms wide and closed his eyes. "Give me your best shot."

Draco shook his head and pocketed his wand. "My mum is right. I know you wouldn't hurt Caroline deliberately. Let's just leave this behind us and move forward."

"Aw, come on, Draco. Don't give me that bullshit. You and I both know you want to hex me. Get it out of your system. You'll feel better."

Draco was just about to leave when he spun around and punched Blaise square in the jaw. Blaise, already weakened by the stupefying spell Draco cast earlier, fell down easily. Draco shook out his hand trying to get rid of the pain.

Draco offered his other hand to pull his best friend up. There was blood on the corner of Blaise's lip which he wiped away with his thumb.

"Feel better?" asked Blaise.

"Much. And you?"

"I'm getting there. You pack a good punch." He moved his jaw back and forth with his hand.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Draco walked to the bar and poured each of them a drink. Blaise took the glass Draco offered and downed it in one gulp. He then lit a cigarette and sat down on one of the bar stools.

"It's been a hell of a fucked up day," said Blaise.

"Yeah, you can say that again." They both sat there in silence, neither one uncertain of what to say. Both just sat and continued drinking.

Finally, Blaise broke the silence. "I've gone over the Thompson contract."

"Yeah? Do you have any good news?"

"There are several loopholes you could walk through. Whoever drew up that contract had shit for brains."

"That's why you're the best, Blaise. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, about that…" Blaise hesitated because he didn't know how to say what he was about to say. "Stefan has been bugging me to travel around with him. Visit different countries; maybe spend some time with our grandmother. I think it's a good idea…to leave here for a while - especially with what happened tonight."

Draco didn't know what to say. The fact that Blaise would ever leave him was a surprise. He just took it for granted that Blaise would always be there.

"Oh," said a disappointed Draco. "You will stay for the wedding, right? I can't just have anyone be my best man."

"Wild hippogriffs couldn't keep me away," he said as he patted Draco on the back. "Well, I'm calling it a night. Oh, and congrats on your new little ankle biter." And with that Blaise left Draco to his thoughts.

*****

In the hallway, Blaise ran into Stefan and Padma and Parvati Patil. When Stefan looked at the injuries on Blaise's face he whistled.

"Wow, look at you. I guess Sophia has a boyfriend, huh?"

"Worse. I'll tell you all about it later."

Padma examined Blaise's face and withdrew her wand to heal him. He gave her a small peck on the cheek in gratitude and then put his arm around her. All four left the party to go to Blaise's house to continue with their own little party.

*****

After all the guests were gone, Draco slowly climbed up the stairs. He met Hermione coming out of Caroline's room.

"How is she?"

"She cried herself to sleep. She thinks she's in love with Blaise. I hope we can give her the de-aging potion soon. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Snape said he'd come around tomorrow. Hopefully he's found a way to change Caroline that won't cause too much harm." He snaked his arm around her waist and led them to their bedroom.

"I'm almost afraid to ask this, but how is Blaise?"

"He'll survive. Let's not talk about him and Caroline anymore tonight." The only thing on his mind at this moment was lying in bed and making love to the mother of his children.


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: I hope all of you are enjoying the holidays (whatever you celebrate). I hope to get the next chapter up by Christmas. Have a great week!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR. _Boom Boom Pow_ by the Black Eyed Peas.

*****

Chapter 38

Hermione woke up hoping the feeling of dread was unfounded. But then she remembered why she was feeling that way and rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. Caroline.

Evidently Draco was feeling the same way because he stood before the window in his robe, sipping his tea staring out at the morning. What a mess things were with Caroline. He wished he'd never talked Snape into creating a de-aging potion. He also wished that Blaise wouldn't leave. They had been best mates forever, and he couldn't imagine not seeing or talking to him every day.

He turned when he heard her stir. "You'll have to get out of bed sometime."

She groaned and rolled over facing him, the covers up to her chin. She was freezing. Draco 'entertained' her the whole night, so heat was not a problem then. But now that he was not sharing the bed with her, she missed his warmth.

"Come back to bed," she whined. Yes, Hermione Granger was whining. "I'm cold."

He set his tea down, took off his robe and crawled back into bed with her. "That's because you're not wearing pajamas, love." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest while kissing up and down her jaw.

"As I recall, _someone_ wanted easy access and wouldn't let me put any nightclothes on last night."

"Oh, yeah," he smirked. "That someone would be me." He ran his hand up and down the side of her body, up and over her curves. "Let me warm you up," he said huskily as he sucked the sensitive spot on her neck. Heavy breathing ensued as the passion started to build.

*****

Hoping that Blaise spent the night, Caroline got out of bed and headed toward the room he usually stayed. She was disappointed when his room was empty. She noticed one of his shirts laying on one of the leather chairs. Picking it up and holding it to her nose, the spicy scent was pure Blaise. She put the shirt on over her pajamas and left the room.

She then turned and padded down the hall toward her parents suite. The door was locked. Concentrating on the door knob, she willed it to unlock until she heard a soft click. Slowly and silently she entered the room.

Noises were coming from the four-poster bed, which was closed off with heavy curtains. The very curious Caroline crept up to the bed and continued listening to the moans and groans within. She stood at the end of the bed and parted the curtain slightly and peeked in.

Hugging and light kissing was what she was used to when she saw her parents together normally. But this was entirely different. Caroline couldn't look away as she saw her father sensually ravish her mother. Her mum seemed to be really enjoying his advancements by the way she was moaning and writhing under him. The sheet was covering most of their naked bodies, so Caroline couldn't see the details of what they were doing.

Another curious thing she noticed was that her parents were breathlessly calling each other by their first names, not Granger or Malfoy. She wasn't sure what that meant, but it was strange nonetheless.

Something told her that she shouldn't interrupt, so she quietly left the room.

Hermione thought she heard something and stopped moving. She shushed Draco. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I just thought I heard something, but it was probably just my imagination."

*****

Caroline's four-year-old mind was still trying to understand what she saw in her parents' bedroom. She headed toward the ballroom where the house elves were cleaning up after the party.

She walked around thinking about the night before when she saw something laying on one of the tables. On closer inspection she discovered they were photographs someone had taken. She couldn't understand why someone would leave them behind, so she picked them up and started looking through them. There were pictures of some of the guests from the night before. She recognized some of them, like her nana, her parents, Ginny and Harry to name a few.

One picture of particular interest was one of Blaise and her dancing on the terrace. They were both smiling as they danced around and around. There was another picture of just Blaise alone winking. She imagined him winking at her. Her heart started beating faster just at the sight of him. She gathered all the pictures and took them to her room. She decided to make a scrapbook to give to her parents for Christmas. They would like that, she was sure.

Although there would be two photos she wanted to keep and not put in the book.

*****

One dilemma Caroline faced was her clothing. Her current clothes were too babyish for her tastes now. So instead of enlarging a few pieces to fit her body, she transfigured them altogether into a tight pair of low cut jeans and a silk blouse that clung to her body and left little to the imagination.

All heads at the breakfast table turned as she entered the room. Draco looked briefly at her and covered his eyes. It unnerved him to see her nipples showing through her blouse. No one had really explained to her the importance of wearing a bra.

"Granger, please do something with her clothes."

"What's wrong with my clothes? I like them. I think Blaise will like them too."

"That's the problem. He'll probably like them too much." Hermione waved her wand and changed Caroline's blouse into a baggy sweatshirt and her jeans into sweatpants.

"Yuck, these are ugly," said Caroline.

"Too bad. That's what you're going to wear until we can find you some decent clothes to wear."

"But Daddy…"

"Don't 'but Daddy' me, Caroline. You need to learn what is and isn't acceptable. And clothes that show off your'you-know-whats' are not acceptable." He couldn't believe he would be having this type of discussion with this daughter now instead of ten years down the road.

The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence. Caroline was still stewing over the way her father made such a fuss over what she was wearing. He was such a meanie.

*****

Later up in her bedroom, Caroline finished putting together the scrapbook she was making for her parents. It was a lot easier using magic. Now all she needed to do was wrap it up and put it under the tree.

Even though she had used magic when she was smaller, once in the ballet studio and again in the flower shop, the magic she had now was a lot stronger. She could perform simple magic spells with little effort.

Her sweatshirt and pants were getting hot, so she took them off and put on Blaise's shirt. She shoved her iPod in its dock and cranked the music up loud. She immediately started to dance around the room, her hips swaying to the beat.

_Boom boom boom  
Boom boom boom_

_Yo  
I got that hit that beat the block  
You can get that bass overload  
I got that rock and roll  
That future flow_

_That digital spit  
Next level visual shit  
I got that boom boom boom  
How the beat bang boom boom boom_

The bass of the 'boom boom boom' shook the room. Draco and Hermione heard the music from the other side of the manor and rushed to her room. They were surprised when they saw that she was only wearing a large men's shirt and her knickers.

_I like that boom boom pow  
Them chicks is jackin my style  
They try to copy my swagger  
I'm on that next shit now  
I'm so 3008  
You so 2000 and late  
I got that boom boom boom  
That future boom boom boom  
Let me get it now_

_Boom boom boom  
Gotta get that boom boom boom_

Draco shouted at her but could not be heard in the slightest because of the volume of the music. He pointed his wand to his neck and shouted, the wand amplifying his voice.

"Caroline! Shut that fucking noise off now!"

She turned off the music. "Gee, Daddy, you don't have to yell."

He looked over at Hermione. "Having a teenager sucks. I'm flooing Snape to see if we can give her that de-aging potion now." And with that he left the room.

*****

Much to Snape's hesitation, he arrived with the de-aging potion in his bag. He gave one more attempt to try to convince Draco that he should wait a couple more days. But Draco wouldn't have it. Caroline must be turned back, and turned back now.

Draco, Hermione, Narcissa and Snape met in Caroline's room to give her the potion. She was in bed with her arms folded across her chest.

"I've decided not to take the potion," she said with determination on her face.

"You don't have a choice, Caroline," said Draco.

"I want Blaise."

"Blaise isn't here at the moment."

"I'm not taking anything until I see Blaise."

Draco had a hard time getting a hold of his best friend. He tried flooing him and sending him an owl. Finally after the second owl, Blaise responded making up some lame excuse as to why he was too busy to come to the manor. At this point Draco was desperate and pleaded with him to come. Reluctantly, Blaise arrived an hour later.

Upon entering her room, Caroline jumped off her bed and tackled him. He landed flat on his back with Caroline on top of him.

Her hormones taking over, she desperately tried to kiss him. He tried to push her off of him, but she was a woman possessed. Finally Draco stormed into the room and grabbed Caroline by her waist and lifted her off of him, her arms and legs flailing about.

Draco threw her on her bed and put a binding spell on her to keep her there. She thrashed about trying to get free, screaming obscenities at everyone. For a moment, Draco honestly thought her head would spin around, and she should spew some nasty green liquid. He really needed to quit watching Muggle horror movies.

"Look at her. She's out of control. We can't wait; we need to do something now."

Snape took a vial out of his bag. "This is just a calming potion. It should help settle her down a bit." Draco held her head still while Snape poured the potion in her mouth. She began to calm down immediately. Draco let the bindings go since she was not a threat anymore.

"I've made the de-aging potion so that it will take effect slower than the other one," explained Snape. "I've also added a memory potion, so she won't remember any of this."

"That's a good idea," said Hermione. "I really don't think it would be healthy to remember this experience."

"You mean, I'll forget about being a grown up and all?" asked Caroline.

"That's the plan," said Draco.

"I'd like to talk to Blaise alone, please," she said. She saw everyone's hesitation. "I'll behave, I promise."

Everyone except Blaise and Caroline left in the room. "I don't want to go back to being a little girl," said Caroline sadly. "I don't want to forget about you. I want to stay with you."

He chuckled. "I'm afraid things don't work like that, Darlin'. You need to grow up naturally, make friends your own age, and go to school." He brushed the white-blond hair away from her face tenderly.

"Oh, you dropped this last night," he said as he pulled the sapphire barrette out of his pocket and held it out to her.

She shook her head and wouldn't take it. "I want you to keep it." Large tears started to spill down her cheeks. She reached under her pillow. "Here I want you to have this too. I don't want you to forget about me – the grown-up me."

She withdrew the picture of her and Blaise dancing from under her pillow and handed it to him. A huge wave of sadness washed over him. He reached over, pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

"I don't think you'll ever have to worry about me forgetting about you," he said.

The others came back into the room. Snape handed the potion to Blaise. He held it out to Caroline.

"Please don't make me drink that. I don't want to leave you." Tears were freely flowing down her face as she sobbed.

A thick lump formed in his throat. "Please? For me?" He tried to hand her the vial again.

Slowly she reached for the vial, her hand shaking. She put it to her lips and drank the whole thing in one gulp.

"Please stay with me?" she asked as she slowly began to fall asleep.

Snape and Narcissa left the room while Blaise, Draco and Hermione stayed. Hermione crawled into the bed and fell asleep holding her daughter. Blaise sat in a chair nearby, his feet propped up on the bed. His head leaned back heavily as he drifted off to sleep. Draco lay down on the sofa, closed his eyes and fell asleep as well.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Okay, no sadness in this chapter. It's a lot lighter. I hope you all had a great day. I didn't get Draco or Blaise in my stocking, but that's okay. Maybe next year. Thanks for all your reviews. They're better than opening presents. Hope you all have a safe and Happy New Year.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 39

In the early morning hours, Draco awoke with his neck stiff from sleeping on the sofa. The fire had died down during the night, so he relit it with his wand. He looked over to Caroline's bed cautiously, afraid that the potion didn't work.

He needn't have worried, because sound asleep was his little cupcake with her arm sprawled over the side of the bed. Her mouth was slightly open softly breathing in and out. Hermione's arm circled the little girl's waist as she too was sleeping soundly on her side. She still had the same clothes she had on the day before.

Draco studied both of them in their sleep. They looked so much alike – same lips, same nose, same overall bone structure - all accept for the color of their hair. Both were wild and curly, but with them lying together their hair looked like chocolate and vanilla. Draco smiled at the thought.

The chair Blaise occupied was now empty. He must have left during the night sometime. It was just as well; he knew Blaise felt awkward about the whole situation – hell, everyone felt awkward about it. But hopefully the potion did what Snape said it would do and Caroline would not remember anything about the last couple of days. Now if they all could just forget.

Caroline stole all the covers off her mother. She was such a cover hog. Draco got another blanket and draped it over Hermione. She reached behind her and grabbed his arm, startling him. He didn't' realize she was awake.

"Stay," she mumbled and pulled him so that he lay behind her with his arm curled around her waist. All three of them slept the remainder of the night spooned together.

*****

The bright morning sun reflected off the snow. Caroline awoke and covered her eyes to block the intensity. She noted a warm body next to her still asleep. She sat up and saw her mum and dad lying in her bed. Draco stirred awake shortly after.

"Daddy?"

"Caroline, how do you feel?" asked Draco, his voice still sounding sleepy.

Her two little fists rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I'm hungry and I have to pee," was her response. She hopped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The sound jolted Hermione awake.

"Caroline?"

"She just went to the loo."

"How does she feel?"

"Well, she said she was hungry and had to pee. I guess that's a good sign."

Caroline came out of her bathroom, slamming the door again. She jumped back up on the bed between her parents. "What are you two doing here?"

Hermione brushed the hair out of her daughter's eyes. "Well, you weren't feeling well, so we thought we'd stay here with you through the night."

"I've been sick? I don't feel sick. Did I miss the party?"

"I'm afraid so, sweetheart," said Hermione.

"Aww, gee. I wish I could have been there," she pouted, her bottom lip protruding.

"It was a really boring party," said Draco. "You didn't miss much."

"Get up and get dressed." Hermione lightly smacked Caroline's bottom. "I'll make you some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."

Caroline jumped on the bed a few times yelling, "Yippee skippy!" She jumped off the bed with a loud thud. Draco and Hermione both grimaced. Someday she would probably break her leg doing that.

"I'd say she's back to normal," said Draco.

"Yeah, whatever you consider normal for her."

*****

Narcissa and Snape were at the breakfast table. Snape came back to check to see if the potion had worked. Caroline skipped into the room without a care in the world. Draco went to find the newspaper, and Hermione carried in the pancakes for Caroline much to Pixie's dismay because she felt that it was her job to serve breakfast.

Narcissa smiled at her granddaughter. "I see you're feeling much better."

"Yeah, but I have a little tummy ache," admitted Caroline as she patted her belly.

Snape looked at her curiously. She noticed him staring at her and scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at him. Yes, she was still the obnoxious little Malfoy spawn. Snape loathed children.

Draco was sipping his tea and reading his paper when a smell hit his nose. The others must have smelled it too by the looks on their faces.

Caroline giggled and put her hand to her mouth. "Excuse me, my bum burped."

"Young lady," said Narcissa. "It is not proper to break wind at the table."

"I didn't break wind, Nana. I farted."

Snape rolled his eyes and wondered why he even bothered to visit that morning. Draco snickered behind his paper. Hermione excused herself to attend to an important matter…morning sickness. She felt quite ill after taking a whiff of that offensive smell.

Caroline was giggling so hard that she did it again. The smell once again hit everyone.

"Good gods, Caroline," Draco said with disgust. "Are you sure you didn't shit your pants?" He fanned the smell away with his newspaper.

"Draco!" Narcissa scolded.

Caroline got down from her chair and pushed her pants down to her ankles for inspection. "No shit, Daddy. Just farts."

Narcissa covered her face with her hands. Draco looked at his daughter with his mouth agape. Snape groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hoped to Merlin that he would be retired by the time this vulgar little girl was old enough to attend Hogwarts. He didn't know if he had the stomach to have her as his student for seven years.

* * *

It was Christmas morning at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa was in an especially good mood since this was the first time in a long time that she got to spend Christmas with a child. She remembered the look on Draco's face as a little boy when he saw all the presents under the tree and couldn't wait to see Caroline's face light up. She admitted that she went overboard on gifts this year. She couldn't stop buying cute little girl clothes and toys. She even bought things for the unborn baby Malfoy. Wasn't it a grandmother's right to spoil her grandchildren?

Besides Narcissa, Caroline was up early. The anticipation was too great for her to wait any longer. She banged on her parents' door to get them up. Draco shuffled to the door and saw this little girl bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Come on, let's go! It's Christmas!!!" She pulled on his arm trying to get him to move.

"Caroline, do you realize what time it is?"

"It's time to open presents! That's what time it is." She continued to pull on his arm, but he wasn't budging.

"You go on downstairs. Your mum and I will be there shortly." His intention was to get rid of her and go back to bed. But Hermione had other plans. She was up and putting on her robe.

"Come on, Mr. Grinch. You can sleep later." He unenthusiastically followed her out the door and down the stairs to the giant Christmas tree.

Caroline was already examining the presents under the tree. There were presents from her mum and dad, her nana, and others. She was a shaker - meaning that she shook each present to try to guess what was inside.

She shook one box. "Clothes," she said with confidence.

Another one. "A book."

Another one. "A game. Probably Monopoly."

Draco couldn't help but laugh because that's exactly what he did when he was her age.

Even though Luna would be visiting soon because she was in the wedding party, she sent a bunch of presents from New Orleans…beads, masks and a King Cake. The King Cake looked scrumptious. It was oval shaped with white icing and purple, green and gold sugar on top. When Hermione read the card that said a baby was hidden in the cake, Caroline panicked because she thought there was a real baby baked inside the cake. She was relieved to learn that it was just a little plastic baby inside.

Hermione bit into the cinnamon-y goodness, rolled her eyes into the back of her head and moaned in pleasure. "Good gods, this is almost better than sex."

"Excuse me??" said Draco.

"I said almost. Don't worry your male ego about it," said Hermione. "I'm going to have to get the recipe, because I can see me craving this at three in the morning." She began to lick the icing off her fingers sensually. Draco couldn't take it anymore, so he grabbed her hand and finished licking the white confection off her fingers. She moaned again, but not from the King Cake.

Caroline was oblivious to what her parents were doing on the sofa behind her. She was too busy concentrating on a strange white box with a blue ribbon on top.

She shook the box and heard a thump, thump inside. There was a strange tiny screeching sound coming from within. The tag on the outside said,

_Happy Christmas, Caroline. Sorry I can't be there with you all._

_Blaise_

_P.S. Don't shake the box._

She wondered why Blaise couldn't be there with them. He was always around. But that thought left her quickly as she wanted to see what was inside the box. So she slowly opened the lid on the box and looked inside. Staring back at her (a little drunkenly as a result of being tossed around) was a beautiful white kitten with blue eyes.

Caroline squealed in delight. Draco had to cover his ears. She picked up the kitten and nuzzled it to her cheek.

"Look, Mummy! Daddy! Nana! Blaise gave me a kitten. Isn't she just perfect? I've always wanted a white kitten with blue eyes. I wonder how he knew?"

"Remind me to kill Blaise again," grumbled Draco. He despised cats, even cute cuddly ones. Caroline handed the kitten to Hermione who put it up to his face. He backed away from it as if she was holding a turd. The white turd was purring. She liked Draco.

Caroline took the kitten from her mother. "What's your name, little girl?" Caroline cooed. She waited for a response. "No name? Well, we'll just have to give you one."

"How about 'snake chow'?" said Draco. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

"You keep this up, you're not going to get your CF," warned Hermione.

"What's a CF?"

She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Your Christmas Fuck."

"Can I have it now?" he whispered back nibbling her ear. "That will be the best Christmas present yet." He kissed down her neck, as he slipped a hand up her robe.

Caroline scowled at them. "You two need to get a room."

The two broke apart from each other acting like they were just scolded by their parents and placed their hands in their laps.

"Now what should we name you?" she said to the little kitten that was curled in her lap purring contently.

"Angel?" The kitten shook her head. "Snowball?" Once again, the kitten shook her head in the negative. "What do you want to be named?"

The kitten mewed three times. "Tinkerbell?" asked Caroline. The kitten nodded. "Okay, Tinkerbell it is then."

"Oh, good grief," complained Draco. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs again as a warning.

Caroline entertained herself with Tinkerbell, dragging a piece of ribbon on the floor and watching the kitten pounce on it. She was wearing the kitten out and soon it fell asleep in front of the fire. Caroline then proceeded to open the rest of her other presents.

After all the presents were unwrapped, Narcissa excused herself. Caroline fell asleep amongst all the wrapping paper, so that left Draco and Hermione cuddling in front of the fire.

Draco leaned over and caught Hermione's lips with his. "Now about that CF…"


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. I spent my New Year's Eve in the ER. My blood pressure got really low and I blacked out at work. I have Polycystic Kidney Disease and stage 5 renal failure, and I had a bad reaction to some new meds I'm taking. But everything seems to be fine for now. Anyway, thanks for continuing to read the story. As much as I would like it to go on forever and ever, there are only a couple of chapters left. I hope everyone has a great week!

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 40

Draco was getting nervous – not because his wedding was tomorrow, but because Blaise was still not acting like himself. He wasn't the fun-loving Blaise they all knew and loved. No, this was a stranger that was moody and didn't smile.

Stefan didn't know what to do with him, and he owled Draco for his help. Maybe he would know how to make Blaise snap out of this blue funk.

Blaise and Stefan were waiting for Draco in the leather chairs in front of the fire in his office when he finally arrived. He was glad to see his best friend again. It had been a while since Blaise visited the Manor.

"We've missed you around here. Caroline's been asking about you. Snape's potion worked. She's back to normal and doesn't remember a thing."

"I wish I didn't remember anything." He put his head down in his hands.

Stefan and Blaise looked at each other with concern for Blaise.

"This de-aging or aging thing has been really fucking me up. I feel so guilty, because on one hand I was attracted to Sophia. She was pretty, charming, and it just felt right. But then I find out it was Caroline all along, and I feel like throwing up. To think I was attracted to a child and what could have happened…I could never forgive myself if I had hurt her."

"But you weren't attracted to a child. You were attracted to what you thought was an adult. There is a big difference."

"Yes, I know that. But I'm afraid that every time I see Caroline, I'll think of Sophia. And that just isn't right."

Stefan was watching the exchange between the two. All of a sudden it hit him. "I've got it!" He snapped his fingers. "All we need to do is wipe the memory out of his head. That way the guilt won't eat him up, and we can have our old Blaise back."

"That just might work," said Draco. "But I'm really not that good at obliviating. That was my father's specialty. I'd probably wipe too much of his memory away."

"Don't look at me." Stefan put his palms up in defense. "I've never obliviated anyone before."

"I have." The three men looked around to see Luna standing in the doorway.

Blaise got up from his seat and scooped her up in a huge bear hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the wedding, silly. I'm one of the bridesmaids, don't you remember?"

He hugged her even tighter and not was about to let go. "Gods, I've missed you so much. Luna, you've got to help me out here," he begged. "This whole thing has been killing me."

Luna led Blaise to the sofa and told him to lie down. He did as he was told and closed his eyes. She removed her wand from her robe and waved it back and forth over Blaise's head. She muttered some incantation that Draco and Stefan had never heard. Sparkles would be seen hovering over his head. When she was finished, he laid there with a look of calmness over his face.

"How long does this take to work?" asked Stefan.

"It should be instantaneous. He'll wake up any second now." Just as those words left her mouth, Blaise woke up. He sat up and looked around at everyone a little confused.

"Luna!" Blaise smiled, grabbed her face and gave her a lingering kiss. "What happened?" he asked.

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Draco.

"Well, let's see. I remember I was a little boy and Snape came over and gave me an aging potion. I really don't remember anything after that. What happened? How long have I been out?"

"Let's just say you've been out a while. Something was wrong with the potion Snape gave you," Draco lied. "But don't say anything to Snape about it. You know how sensitive he is about his potions."

"Sensitive Snape? That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one." Blaise snickered. "Shit. What day is it? Have I missed anything good?"

"Actually, our wedding is tomorrow."

"We're getting married? I really like you Draco, but I don't think you're my type," Blaise teased. "And forget about a honeymoon."

"I'm talking about me and Granger, you imbecile." Draco rolled his eyes, but really appreciated that his best friend had his sense of humor back.

"Oh, and by the way, friend," Draco said sarcastically. "Thanks for giving Caroline that cat for Christmas."

"I gave her a cat? Why would I do something like that? You hate cats. Hmm, that's weird."

Stefan handed his cousin a tumbler of firewhiskey. Blaise raised his glass in a toast. "Here's to Draco and his future ball and chain. Now that you're off the market there are more sluts out there for the rest of us tossers."

Luna punched Blaise in the arm. "You and your cousin are tossers indeed." She giggled. "You could at least wait until I'm out of the room before you plan your strategy for obtaining more sluts."

Blaise grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down on his lap. "Aww, Luna, I'm just kidding. You know you're the only slut for me." He wove his fingers through her hair and pulled her down for another kiss.

Draco scratched his head. "Wait a minute. I thought you two broke up."

"Oh, we did," explained Luna. "We're now just friends."

"With benefits," added Blaise with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, geez," said Draco rolling his eyes. "Well, I guess everything's back to normal. Thank Merlin."

Just then Caroline burst into the room. She saw Luna and Blaise and shouted their names. She ran and jumped on Luna's lap who was sitting on Blaise's lap. She gave them a group hug and kissed them each on the cheek.

"I'm so happy that you're here," she squealed. "Luna, you should see the kitten Blaise got me for Christmas! It's really cute."

"What did you name it?"

"Oh, I didn't name her anything. She named herself. She wants to be called Tinkerbell."

Blaise gave Draco a confused look and mouthed, "Tinkerbell?'

Draco shook his head and mouthed, 'Don't ask."

"You can talk to your cat?" asked Luna. "That's really unusual."

"Yeah, I can talk to her just like I did Mrs. Norris. Do you want to see her? She's taking a nap now, but I'll let you take a look. I'll even let you hold her." Caroline didn't wait for Luna's answer and grabbed her hand and started to drag her out the room.

Luna looked back at Blaise and winked. "We'll catch up later…friend."

* * *

Later that afternoon Draco had to do some business at the Ministry of Magic. Blaise stayed behind to go over some contracts. He had them spread over the coffee table in front of the sofa and was looking over them diligently.

He looked up when he heard a little knock on the door. "Come in – the door's open."

Caroline walked in pushing a little buggy with Tinkerbell in it. The little girl was wearing one of her nicest dresses with a matching ribbon in her hair.

Blaise took off his reading glasses and leaned back on the sofa with his arms folded across his chest.

"What can I do for you little lady?"

"I've got some business to discuss." She sat down on the sofa with her little pink purse on her lap.

"Go on," urged Blaise.

"Well, you do legal stuff for my daddy, right?"

Blaise was wondering where this was going. "That's right."

"Well, wondered if you'd do some legal stuff for me."

"What kind of legal stuff?" He looked at her skeptically.

She cleared her throat. "Okay, here's the thing. Daddy is a Malfoy. Mummy will be a Malfoy tomorrow. And my new baby brother will be a Malfoy too."

"I'm with you so far."

"But I'm still going to be a Granger. I want to be a Malfoy like the rest of my family."

"But you are a Malfoy."

"Nuh uh. Look here." She pulled her scrapbook from underneath the kitten in her buggy. She opened it up and withdrew her birth certificate.

"See Daddy signed my certificate, but at the top it still says Caroline Jean Granger – not Caroline Jean Malfoy."

Blaise grabbed his glasses and looked over the document. "Hmm, I can see where that would be a concern," agreed Blaise playfully.

"Can you fix it?" asked Caroline said seriously. "I can pay you." She opened her purse and took out a galleon.

"Oh, no. I'll do this for you gratis."

"What's gratis?"

"That means free of charge." He folded up the certificate. "Let me keep this for now and let me see what I can do."

"Thanks, Blaise." She held her hand out for him to shake. "Nice doing business with you."

* * *

The wedding was to take place in the Malfoy ballroom. Hermione had to compromise on the size of the wedding. Narcissa wanted to invite the whole wizarding community (anyone worth inviting, that is). Hermione, however, wanted something simple. So the two witches came to an agreement on the amount of people to invite as well as other details.

To make everything just perfect, they decided to have a rehearsal the night before. Everyone took their places for the dry run. Luna followed by Ginny walked down the aisle. The two groomsmen, Blaise and Harry, waited on the other side of the aisle with Draco. Harry was in the wedding party because that was one of Hermione's conditions to agree to marry Draco much to his chagrin.

Everything was going smoothly with the rehearsal until Caroline walked down the aisle. She still had on her pretty dress from before, but she wore no socks or shoes. She reached the end of the aisle, and Draco looked at her feet.

"Where are your socks and shoes? And your feet are all dirty," Draco said with disgust.

Caroline put her hands on her hips and said to him in a condescending tone. "I'm a hobbit, Daddy. And everyone knows that hobbits don't wear shoes."

Draco slapped his hand over his eyes and groaned. "Why me?" He heard the others around him snicker.

"Me and Teddy decided that weddings are boring, so we decided to make it more fun."

"I'm afraid to see what Teddy looks like."

At the top of her lungs, Caroline shouted, "Hey Teddy! Come on down!"

Teddy shyly looked around the door and started walking down the aisle. Draco's mouth hung open in disbelief. Teddy had turned his face orange and his hair green.

"What the fu…"

"Teddy's an oompa loompa. Isn't he cool looking? We've been practicing the song too."

Everyone, except Draco, was bending over laughing and snorting. Tonks, Narcissa and Andromeda were sitting in the chairs on the side with tears rolling down their faces.

Draco grabbed Caroline and Teddy by their arms and marched them over to Tonks. Steam looked like it was coming out his ears.

Draco looked at Tonks and pointed a finger at her. "You put them up to this, didn't you, cousin?"

Tonks feigned innocence. "Who me?"

"Oh lighten up, Draco. You've been much too serious lately," said Narcissa. Draco had never seen his mother lose control like that. And Hermione was trying to catch her breath in between laughing. He had to admit that this was funny. But he couldn't let them know that, so his mask of indifference held firm.

"Okay. Joke's over. You kids go upstairs and fix yourselves. And I better not see any hobbits or oompa loompas at the wedding tomorrow. Are we clear?"

Both Teddy and Caroline giggled and nodded their heads. They ran back up the aisle holding hands.

Draco spun his heel and looked at Hermione who was still all red faced and laughing. He grabbed her by the arm.

"May I have a word with you, Granger?" He turned back and said to the others, "I think the rehearsal is over for tonight."

He pulled her back up the aisle and around the corner out of sight from everyone else. He pushed her against the wall and trapped her with his body.

"You think that was funny, Granger?"

Hermione just nodded because she still couldn't speak.

"You've been a very naughty girl trying to pull a prank on me," he said menacingly in her ear. "And naughty girls must be punished." There was a wicked smile on his lips and fire in his eyes.

Hermione looked back at him with lust. Then she looked at her watch. "You have four hours to punish me," she purred. "After midnight you're not allowed to see me until I walk down the aisle."

"Only four hours? Well, time's a wasting. Let's go." He picked her up bridal style and apparated them both up to their bedroom.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Thank you for all your get well wishes. Luckily I've not had any more episodes. Here is the chapter with the wedding. The reception will be in the next one. Have a great week

Disclalimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 41

Draco left her bed at exactly 11:59 pm. During those four hours of her "punishment" they played, they made love, they laughed, but mostly they talked. They talked about Caroline naturally.

For Caroline's schooling Draco wanted to hire a governess, but Hermione was adamant that Caroline go to school. There was a new school for gifted children that Professor Dumbledore highly recommended. _The Wee Witches and Wizards Academy for the Gifted_ was very enthusiastic to have Caroline as one of their pupils. Draco was against the idea at first, but Hermione easily won the argument.

Draco had many governesses growing up. The instructors would leave the Manor in tears after Lucius fired them for being too soft on Draco. If he didn't fire them, they quit after Lucius would sexually harass them. More than once, he had sex with a couple of the prettier teachers. Once Draco walked in on Lucius and a buxom governess doing things an 8-year-old should not be seeing. Lucius beat him within an inch of his life as punishment for walking in on them. Just that thought alone reminded him how miserable and lonely he was schooled at home.

But the most convincing argument for having Caroline go to school was Hermione herself. They were laying side by side when she threw one of her legs over his.

"There is another advantage of Caroline going to school that you're not considering."

"And what would that be?"

She placed his hand on one of her heavy breasts. He raised an eyebrow as she grabbed 'little Draco.'

"Well, she'll be gone for three hours each day. What would we do to fill the time?" She winked at him suggestively.

Three hours?"

"Every day," said Hermione. He rolled her on her back and settled between her legs.

"When does she start?"

* * *

Caroline knocked and entered Draco's suite where he, Blaise, Harry and Teddy were getting ready for the wedding.

"Can you help me with my ribbon?" asked Caroline as she held a dusty pink ribbon up to Draco.

"Why don't you have your mother help you?"

"Because she's too busy trying to get her boobs to fit into her dress."

Teddy snickered and Harry gave him a scolding look, but inwardly he was snickering too.

Draco's mouth hung open. He was not quite sure he heard correctly. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, since she's having a baby her dress doesn't fit anymore. Ginny and Luna are trying to make the boob area of the dress bigger so Mummy's bo…"

"Okay, that's enough. I get it."

"Think they could use an extra hand?" asked Blaise jokingly.

Draco gave his best mate his signature death glare. "I think the ladies will do fine without your expertise." He looked over to a laughing Harry. "Shut it, Potter."

"Anyway, can you help me with my ribbon?" asked Caroline again.

"Sure, come over here, Cupcake." He led her over to a chair and sat down while she stood. He tried to tie the ribbon a couple of times, but it didn't look right.

"How does your mother do this every day?" mumbled Draco. Exasperated, he threw the ribbon over to Blaise. "Here, you try."

Caroline skipped over to Blaise where he tied the ribbon with no effort. "Here you go, Darlin'."

"You must have been a hairdresser in a former life," smirked Draco.

Blaise flipped him the bird. "Fuck you, Malfoy. Oops, pardon my French," he said as he remembered that Caroline and Teddy were in the room.

"Was that really French?" Teddy asked Harry quietly.

"No, and I don't want you to ever say that word, understand?" Teddy nodded his head. "Good," said Harry.

Caroline pulled another ribbon out of her pocket. "Can you tie a ribbon around Tinkerbell, too?"

That got Draco's attention. "That cat stays in your room."

"But Daddy, Tinkerbell wants to be in the wedding too," whined Caroline.

"I'm warning you, Caroline, if I see that cat so much as puts a paw outside your door, I won't hesitate to sell it to the nearest Chinese restaurant."

Caroline turned to Blaise. "What does that mean?"

Blaise shook his head. "Trust me, you don't want to know. You'd better keep Tinkerbell in your room."

* * *

The Malfoy Manor ballroom always looked spectacular whenever events were held there. They all paled in comparison to the way the ballroom was decorated for the wedding. It was an evening wedding, and there were no lights except for the sconces lining the walls and thousands of illuminated fairies flittering around above the guests' heads (that was Tinkerbell's idea according to Caroline). The ceiling was enchanted to look like the midnight sky. Bouquets of wine and dusty pink bouquets filled the room.

The guests consisted of many of Draco's and Hermione's friends from Hogwarts, several professors including Dumbledore and Snape, the Weasleys (except Ron), and various other business associates and Ministry of Magic higher-ups.

Almost all the guests were seated when Narcissa walked into the room where Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Caroline were waiting.

"Hermione," said Narcissa, "A particular guest would like to have a word with you before the ceremony. Shall I send her in?"

A puzzled look crossed Hermione's face. She couldn't think of anyone that would want to make a point to see her before the wedding. But the last person on earth she dreamed of was standing in the doorway.

"Mother!" Hermione exclaimed as she saw Carol Ganger standing before her. "What? How?"

"I invited her," said Narcissa. "A mother should always be there when her child is getting married, don't you agree?"

"Your future mother-in-law made a convincing argument – like sticking a wand in my face," said Carol. But she didn't appear to be angry.

Hermione looked horror struck. "You didn't," she said to Narcissa.

Narcissa just folded her arms and nodded her head with a smirk on her face.

Hermione went up to her mother and gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're here." Her eyes were filling up with tears.

Carole stood back and looked at her daughter. "You know how I feel about all this witchcraft business. But no matter what, you're still my daughter, and I want you to be happy." A couple of tears ran down her face. "You're more beautiful than I ever could imagine you would be on your wedding day. I wish your father could be here to see you."

Hermione couldn't believe that her mother was being so civil. She hoped it wasn't temporary. She was very thankful that Ginny put a charm on her makeup so that it wouldn't smear, otherwise all her makeup would be gone. Tears were freely pouring down her face.

"I know Dad is here with us. I can feel him."

"Me too, "piped in Caroline.

Carol looked down at her granddaughter. "My, Caroline you've grown so much in the last few months."

"That's because I eat my veggies," said Caroline proudly. Carol smiled down her and gave her a hug.

"You look very grown-up, Caroline," said Carol. Hermione and Narcissa shared a look.

"Well, we best be going," said Narcissa. "The mothers of the bride and groom should be escorted down the aisle first." Carol nodded and gave Hermione's hand one last squeeze before she followed Narcissa out of the room.

*****

Draco was standing at the front sweating bullets waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. He was shocked to see Carol Granger coming toward him followed by his mother. He looked at Narcissa questioningly. She simply smiled and nodded her head.

Next down the aisle came Luna followed by Ginny. They each had their hair in an updo and were wearing deep wine-colored gowns. Next, a very nervous looking Teddy walked toward the altar. He didn't know what to think of all the people staring at him. At one point his hair became a bright red before it changed back to brown.

Next Caroline started to walk down the aisle holding a basket of dusty rose petals. She was dressed in a dusty rose, floor-length dress with the matching ribbon in her hair that Blaise tied for her. She took her job of scattering the flower petals seriously and didn't want to mess up. Draco watched his daughter come down the aisle and was never more proud of her. Blaise was standing next to Draco and gave her a little wink as she approached the altar.

Hermione was slowly walking to the entrance of the ballroom when she got the second biggest shock of the day. Standing in front of her was her father – the ghost of Richard Granger.

"Dad!"

"You don't think I would miss the most important day of my little girl's life, do you?" asked her father.

Once again tears were streaming down her face. "Dad, I miss you so much." She reached out to touch him, but just reached through him. "So much has happened…"

"Yes, I know. I've been keeping an eye out on you and Caroline."

Hermione blushed. She hoped he hadn't kept an eye on _everything._

"Shall we? You don't want to keep that handsome fellow waiting, do you?" He held out his arm and Hermione snaked her arm through his. No one was the wiser; it looked like she was walking alone holding her bouquet of flowers.

Her gown was magnificent. It was an iridescent white that caught the fairy lights as she walked down the aisle. The gown had a sweetheart strapless neckline and fitted her snugly across her chest even after it had been altered. A semi-cathedral train followed behind. Her hair was also in an updo with small curly tendrils framing her face.

As Hermione walked down the aisle, all she saw was Draco standing there looking at her with love and passion in his eyes. He was dressed in his finest robes which she couldn't wait to take off of him.

If someone had told her a year ago that she'd be marrying Draco Malfoy, she would have checked them into the mental ward at St. Mungo's. This whole experience was surreal. If it hadn't have happened to her, she wouldn't have believed it to be true.

The witch walking toward Draco was the most beautiful thing he had even seen. Also, it looked like she was walking a little to the side, as if someone was walking along side of her.

For a moment he couldn't breathe. He knew he didn't deserve her and was wondering why she even agreed to marry him. He couldn't take his eyes off of her and honestly was checking out the "boob area" of the dress as Caroline called it. To him the dress looked perfect in every way. She reached the front and stood with him in front of a tall wizard with silver robes.

He cleared his throat and said, "We are gathered here to bear witness to the union of…"

Hermione's heart was beating so loudly, that she didn't hear what the tall wizard was saying. She was in her own little world with just her and the man she was about to spend the rest of her life with.

"Do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take…" the wizard repeated. She quickly snapped out of reverie and responded with the proper "I do."

Sniffles could be heard from the front row. Draco didn't have to look at his mother to know that she was the one crying. Women!

Caroline started quietly giggling as Fred and George were making faces at her. Blaise caught their eye and give them a 'if you don't stop I'll hex your balls off' glare. They immediately stopped their shenanigans.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife – Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy. You may kiss your bride."

Draco pulled Hermione's body close to him and put his lips to hers. As they kissed silver strands were swirling around their entire bodies symbolizing that they were truly united in marriage. They broke the kiss and looked out at all their family and friends. Everyone was cheering loudly.

The tall wizard raised his hands to signal that he wasn't finished. All became quiet to hear what he had to say.

"There is other business that needs to be tended to. Would Caroline Jean Granger please come forward?"

Caroline slowly walked between her mother and father looking at them nervously and craned her neck to look up at the wizard towering over her.

"It appears there was some discrepancy about the name on your birth certificate, Caroline." He looked down at her and produced a rolled-up piece of parchment. She swallowed hard and hoped that what he had to say was good.

"I am happy to inform you that we at the Ministry have corrected your birth certificate, and it is now officially listed in the Hall of Records as…" He unrolled the parchment to let her see. "Caroline Jean Granger…Malfoy."

Everyone stood up and cheered as Caroline squealed and jumped into Draco's arms. She peppered kisses all over his face. Looking over her father's shoulder at Blaise, she smiled and gave him the thumbs-up. Draco put her down and held her hand. Hermione held her other hand as they all three walked back up the aisle.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Well, this is it. The last chapter. There is much more of Caroline's story to tell, but that will have to wait until the sequel. If you want to be alerted when the story is posted, just add me to your Author Alerts. The first chapter will be posted sometime in February. Thank you all again for taking this journey with me. It's been a fun ride. I hope you enjoyed the little twists and turns the story took. Whether you reviewed once or for every chapter, I truly appreciated every single one of them. Thank you.

Disclaimer: All characters (except Caroline) belong to JKR.

*****

Chapter 42

After the ceremony, the ballroom was transformed. Gone were the rows of seats, the aisle, and alter. In their place were tables and chairs scattered around the perimeter of the room for the guests to eat, drink and mingle. The middle of the room was open for dancing while the string ensemble moved to the other side of the room and continued to play.

Draco and Hermione took to the floor to dance their first dance as husband and wife. Caroline looked at them in awe as they glided gracefully around the floor. She thought her parents looked like a prince and princess. The fairy lights were hovering over them and made it look even more romantic. She sighed and continued to watch them as if in a trance.

"Have I told you how breathtakingly beautiful you are tonight, Mrs. Malfoy?" asked Draco as she twirled her around gently.

She lowered her head and blushed. "That's going to take time to get used to, you know, being a Malfoy now."

"I guess we should make a better effort using our first names instead of Granger and Malfoy."

"I don't know, I kind of like it what you call me 'Granger.' You make it sound so sexy."

He lowered his head and purred in her ear. "I'll tell you what's sexy, Granger. You in that dress. That's what's sexy."

"I had a little trouble earlier getting into it."

"Yes, Caroline informed us that your boob area needed to be bigger."

Hermione blushed again. "I should have known Caroline would go around and blab about my problem."

"From my perspective, it's not a bad problem to have." He smirked as she looked down at her chest. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Granger, you knew I was a pig when you agreed to marry me. Just let me enjoy the view."

Hermione laughed. "You can enjoy the view later. For now, my eyes are up here."

After a few minutes of dancing alone, Blaise and Luna joined them followed by Harry and Ginny. Soon other couples started drifting toward the dance floor.

*****

Caroline noticed another little girl by the punch bowl. The girl had silky straight silvery-blond hair and looked to be about the same age as Caroline. Of course, not being a bit shy, Caroline walked up to the little girl.

"Hi. My name's Caroline. What's yours?"

"I'm Victoire."The two girls sized each other up.

"Do you want some champagne? I know where we can get some and the grown-ups don't have to know."

Victoire shrugged. "Okay, I guess." So she followed Caroline behind one of the tables with bottles and glasses of champagne.

Teddy noticed that Caroline and another girl were sneaking behind one of the tables. He followed wanting to see what they were up to. He found the two girls each holding a glass of the bubbly liquid.

"Caroline! You're going to get into trouble. I'm going to tell," said Teddy.

She handed him a glass. "Relax, Teddy. It's just champagne." She motioned toward Victoire. "This is my new friend, Victoire. Victoire, this is Teddy."

Teddy stared at the new girl. She was very pretty and seemed nice. Caroline was pretty, but she was really bossy at times.

"We shouldn't be doing this, Caroline, and you know it."

A voice from underneath the table mimicked Teddy. "We shouldn't be doing this Caroline, and you know it." Caroline lifted the table skirt to see a boy with brown hair and blue eyes staring back at her. The boy was holding a whole bottle of champagne.

"Who are you? And what are you doing under my table," demanded Caroline.

The boy crawled out from under the table. He was taller than all of them and seemed to be a little older.

"I'm Andrew Nott. My dad and your dad went to school together." He took a sip from this glass. "This is pretty good champagne. My dad lets me drink all the time."

"You shouldn't be under my table drinking my champagne," said Caroline with her hands on her hips.

He got up in her face. "What are you going to do about it, Miss Bossy Britches?"

She stuck her chin up in the air. "I'm going to tell."

"Then you're going to get into trouble yourself. Ever think about that?" asked Andrew. Caroline hadn't truthfully considered that.

"Caroline Jean Malfoy!" All four heads turned toward a very pissed off Narcissa. "You should know better, Caroline. You children put down that champagne immediately." She shooed the kids away from the table. "If I see any of you near this table again, I'll hex your ears off."

All four put down their glasses and moved away from the table with their heads hung.

"Bitch!" muttered Andrew under his breath.

"Do you guys want to go up to my room and play?" Teddy and Victoire eagerly nodded their heads. Andrew looked indifferent, but he followed them up to Caroline's room anyway since there didn't seem anything better to do at the moment.

*****

Harry and Hermione were dancing together when Hermione started to get dizzy. She lost her balance a little but Harry caught her before she took a tumble.

"Are you alright?" asked a very concerned Harry.

"Yeah, Harry, I'm okay. But I think I'd better sit down for a bit." Hermione let Harry lead her to one of the near-by tables. He looked around to find Draco, but Draco had already seen them and was rushing toward them. Luna was close behind.

"When is the last time you ate?" asked Luna.

"I don't know. Maybe sometime yesterday."

"And they call you the brightest witch of our age." Draco shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Harry brought over a plate of fruit and some water. Narcissa, Blaise and Ginny came over to the table to see what was going on.

"You all are making a big fuss over nothing," said Hermione. "All I need is something to eat and some fresh air. Now all of you go back to enjoying yourselves. I'll be fine."

They all reluctantly left the table - except Draco. He stayed with Hermione and was practically force feeding her.

"We need to keep you and Scorpius healthy," he said as he fed her a grape.

"Scorpius? Who's Scorpius?"

"Our son, of course. Scorpius Malfoy. Doesn't that sound like a name to be reckoned with?"

"Scorpius? You want to name our son Scorpius?"

"It's a family name. And I figured you got to name the first one, so I should get to name the second one." He placed one of his hands on the little bump that was starting to show.

"If that's the case, then I gave birth to the first one, so why don't you give birth to the second one?"

He smirked at her. "Just one of the benefits of being born a male."

"Prat." She lightly swatted his arm. "I get to choose the middle name then. Robert, after my grandfather. Scorpius Robert Malfoy. How does that sound?"

He answered her with a kiss - a long lingering loving kiss. She wove her fingers through his hair as she kissed him back.

Harry nudged Ginny to look over at the amorous couple. "Looks like she's feeling better."

"With a snog like that, how could she not?" Ginny grinned.

*****

"This room is boring," complained Andrew. "All it's got are girl toys."

"Hello? I'm a girl. Duh," answered Caroline. She turned around and continued to show Victoire her jewelry box. Victoire loved jewelry and was impressed with Caroline's collection.

Victoire picked up a blue sapphire barrette and was admiring it. "I used to have two of those," said Caroline. "They came as a set. I must have lost one of them somehow."

Caroline picked up an emerald ring. "And this is my engagement ring."

"You're engaged?" asked Victoire. "Aren't you too young to be engaged?"

"Nah. When I'm older, I'm going to marry Blaise. He thinks I'm kidding, but I'm not."

"Who's Blaise?"

There was a knock on the door. Blaise stuck his head in and said, "They're cutting the cake, kids. You don't want to miss out, do you?"

All four of them dropped what they were holding and rushed out the door. There was no way they were going to miss cake.

Blaise started to close the door behind him, when something blue caught his eye. He walked over to Caroline's dresser and saw the sparkly blue sapphire barrette. He picked it up and looked at it strangely. It looked oddly familiar, but he couldn't place it.

*****

After the reception was winding down, Blaise went out on the terrace and lit a cigarette. He looked out over the grounds. He was going to miss this place.

He heard a small voice clear her throat behind him. He turned around and saw Caroline standing there.

"I just wanted to thank you for making me a real Malfoy," said Caroline.

"You were already a Malfoy, Darlin'." He leaned back on the railing.

"Yeah, but now I'm bonafide."

Blaise chucked. "You're bonafide all right." He took a big drag off his cigarette.

"I wish you'd stop smoking." She grabbed the cigarette from his hand and dropped it to the ground and stomped on it.

"Why did you do that?"

She looked up at him sadly. "Because I don't want you to die."

He chucked again in amusement. "I'm going to miss you."

"Miss me? What do you mean?"

"Stefan and I are going to do some traveling. Maybe stay with Luna for a while. Then we're going to spend some time with our grandmother in Italy."

"Nooo. You can't leave. You're my friend. You're my best friend. I won't let you leave." She crossed her arms over her chest.

He crouched down so he could be eye level with her. "Listen, you don't want me hanging around. It looks like you've met some new friends tonight. I'm sure you'll have a lot more fun with them than an old man like me."

"Well, Victoire's nice. I guess she could be my new best friend. But that other boy, I don't like him. He's mean."

"I think you're going to be seeing a lot more of Andrew because his father is going to be taking over the legal work at Malfoy Enterprises."

"Does that mean you're going to be gone forever?" Tears started forming in her blue-gray eyes.

"For a while, but not forever. I'll be back, I promise."

She threw her arms around his neck. "I'm going to miss you, Blaise."

He gave her a hug and patted her on the back. "Listen; don't take any shit from Andrew, okay. You have my permission to kick his arse if he gives you any trouble."

"Caroline," Hermione called from the doorway. "It's time for you to go to bed." She walked over and took the little girl by her hand. Caroline looked back sadly at Blaise and waved. Blaise swallowed the lump in his throat and gave a little wave back.

*****

"Caroline is really upset that Blaise is leaving. I didn't think she'd take it so hard." Draco and Hermione were back in their bedroom after putting Caroline to bed with her dragon and her lion.

"Me neither. Although I'm going to miss him, too," said Draco. He shook his head. "Let's not talk about him; we've got a honeymoon to think about."

"By the way, where are we going? You wouldn't answer me when I kept asking you."

He put his arms around her. "Aha, just put your arms around me, love, and I'll show you."

She did as he asked and they both disapparated. When they arrived at their destination, Hermione gasped as she looked around. They were in the middle of the bedroom in her old cottage which was now at the edge of the Malfoy estate.

"My cottage! It's beautiful!" All around the room were bouquets of roses – wine and dusty rose. Candles were scattered around the room as well, some floating in the air. Debussy's Clair de Lune was playing softly in the background.

"This is just for our first night. Tomorrow we take off for the Caymans."

"Hmm, I don't know if I want to leave this room." She started to undo his tie and slowly unbutton the front of his shirt.

"That can be arranged too," he whispered. He ran his hands from her shoulders up her neck. He leaned in and kissed her. "I don't care where we are as long as you're naked and underneath me."

Hermione laughed. "Always the romantic."

"Have I told you I love you today?" He looked at her intensely as he started to lower the zipper at the back of her dress.

She closed her eyes and signed happily. "Maybe a couple of times, but definitely not enough."

He lowered her backward onto the bed. He leaned over her and placed his forehead on to hers.

"I love you, Hermione Jean Malfoy."

*****

The end


	43. Sequel?

Thanks, once again, for taking the time to read my first story. I truly appreciate all your support and encouragement. The first chapter of the sequel – My Darling Caroline – is now posted.


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